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UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



y 

BEGINNING AND GROWTH 



THE CHRISTIAN LIFE; 



OR, 



THE SUNDAY-SCHOOL TEACHER. 



" Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit ; so shall ye be my 
disciples." 




BOSTON: 

CROSBY, NICHOLS, AND COMPANY, 

jjror ti;e SuitfJa^Scfjool <Socfeta>. 

1855. 



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5^ 



Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 

Crosby, Nichols, and Company, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



CAMBRIDGE! 
METCALF AND COMPANY, PRINTERS TO THE UNIVERSITY. 



NOTICE 



The Directors of the Sunday-School Society think 
proper to accompany the works which appear under 
their sanction with a brief statement of the views by 
which they are guided. 

It is their desire to aid in circulating books that may 
promote the love of God and man, books that may re- 
liably assist the teacher in his important work, or give to 
the pupil lessons in harmony with the law of Christ. 
No work will be published by them which does not, 
in their opinion, fulfil these conditions. They will 
neither cause to be printed, nor otherwise recommend, 
books inconsistent with a Christianity at once liberal 
and evangelical. But they do not consider themselves 
responsible for minor peculiarities of sentiment or ex- 
pression. Writers equally intelligent and pious may 
differ in these. It is better that each should utter his 
own thought, even if sometimes inaccurate, than that all 
individuality should be destroyed by a too unsparing 
criticism. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. PAGE 

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS ........ 5 

CHAPTER II. 

THE WANTS OF OUR SUNDAY-SCHOOLS 10 

CHAPTER III. 

THE TRUE OBJECT OF SUNDAY-SCHOOL INSTRUCTION . . 27 

CHAPTER IV. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. — FAITH IN CHRIST AND 

SELF-CONSECRATION 40 

CHAPTER V. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. — INTEREST AND PERSE- 
VERANCE IN THE WORK, AND A TRUE LOVE OF SOULS . 56 

CHAPTER VI. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. — CHRISTIAN FAITH AND 

HOPEFULNESS . 75 

CHAPTER VII. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. — MENTAL ENDOWMENTS 

AND SPECIAL PREPARATION 92 

1* 



IV CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER VIIL 

DUTIES OF THE TEACHER 116 

CHAPTER IX. 

CLASSIFICATION OF PUPILS. — USE OF MANUALS, &C. . . 1§3 

CHAPTER X. 

ORDER AND METHOD. — SUNDAY-SCHOOL LIBRARIES . . 146 

CHAPTER XI. 

THE OBSERVANCE OF THE LORD'S SUPPER .... 156 

CHAPTER XII. 

THE RELATION OF THE CHILD TO THE CHURCH . . . 169 

CHAPTER XIII. 

THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD OF CHARACTER .... 180 



THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 



CHAPTER I 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



Fold of the tender Shepherd 1 rise, and spread ! 
Arch o'er our frailty roofs of everlasting strength ! 
Be all the body gathered to its living Head ! 
Wanderers we faint: 0, let us find our Lord at length ! 



During the last few years, observing persons 
can hardly have watched with any degree of at- 
tention the progress of events, without feeling 
that great and important changes have been and 
still are taking place in the religious, no less than 
in the social and political world. 

More silently, unnoticed by the common ob- 
server it may be, but none the less surely, has the 
old order of things been passing away; and to 
the earnest seeker there are significant tokens 
prophetical of a new era in sects and parties of 
the Church. 

Ideals of a better and higher state, longings 
for a more Christ-like life and a more spiritual 



6 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

union, a consciousness that creeds and dogmas 
have too often usurped the place of an inward 
faith and a practical piety, that disciples have 
breathed far too little of their Master's spirit of 
love, forbearance, and humility, that the Church 
of Christ even has been too often untrue to her 
noble mission and high calling, — such thoughts 
fill at times every reflecting and thoughtful mind, 
and prompt the earnest question, "By what 
means is a higher spiritual life to be attained ? 
How is the true coming of Christ's kingdom to 
be promoted ? " 

Look into our Sabbath schools, regarded now, 
and for many years past, as established Christian 
institutions. Acknowledging freely and fully all 
the good that has been accomplished, all the pure 
and holy influences that have flowed from them, 
as fruitful sources of religious instruction and 
spiritual life, ■ — recalling, too, with grateful re- 
membrance, the many pure, devoted, and conse- 
crated spirits that have faithfully labored in this 
portion of their Master's vineyard, — it is not to 
be denied that in many quarters there is a preva- 
lent dissatisfaction, a feeling that such schools 
are not accomplishing their highest ends. 

Progress, indeed, there has been ; but has the 
advance been commensurate with our means, 
opportunities, and privileges ? Do our schools, 
as now conducted, meet the deepest wants of the 
youthful spirit ? Does the young heart there find 
that bread of Life, which will alone satisfy its 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 7 

cravings amid the sterner trials of maturer years ? 
Are teachers laboring upon the right principles, 
or has the true end been too often lost sight of 
in mere external or mechanical forms ? Are we 
to rest contentedly where we are, feel that no on- 
ward steps are to be taken, and quietly and 
inanely yield ourselves to the force of surround- 
ing circumstances, or are we not rather to make 
some strenuous, earnest effort to seek a higher 
plane of action, to spiritualize our endeavors, and 
to render our schools more completely Christian 
institutions ? 

In the words of another, " There is among men 
of earnest and reverent moods a pause and an 
expectation, as if they heard a divine voice just 
becoming articulate and audible, — coming, not 
out of the old creeds, but out of the Divine 
Word, and out of the most interior consciousness 
of men, and prophesying of the things that are 
yet to be." 

In all our churches there are young hearts 
questioning the truth of the dogmas inculcated 
from childhood, and earnestly asking the mean- 
ing of the great doctrines of man's sinfulness 
and redemption, of pardon, salvation, and retri- 
bution. In all our churches there are souls that 
earnestly long to know their relations to Christ 
as a personal Saviour, — that ask not for forms 
or systems, or an intellectual belief, but for Christ ; 
for his cross, as a seal of their own acceptance ; 
for his death, as a pledge of their pardon. 



8 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

Are these wants truly met among us? Are 
they always even fully acknowledged? Read 
the words and ponder the deep meaning of those 
expressions applied to Christ, both by himself 
and his Apostles, marking him as divine in his 
nature, power, and authority, and then say 
whether it be sufficient to the young and aspir- 
ing soul, hungering and thirsting after righteous- 
ness, longing for an assurance of faith and hope, 
to be brought to him, as is too often the case, as 
a holy teacher and guide alone ? Is there not 
a deeper craving of the soul, which cannot and 
will not thus be satisfied? 

Go into any of our larger towns or cities ; 
explore carefully the narrow streets, the crowded 
houses, the lanes and cellars ; see the iniquity 
and sin, the ignorance, degradation, and heathen- 
ism that exist under the very shadow of our 
churches and schools, and will not the question 
force itself upon the mind, Are these indeed Chris- 
tian communities ? 

Do we not need some new power at work 
among us, — some voice to vitalize the dry bones 
of a barren and self-sufficient piety, of frigid 
naturalism, of unbelief and misbelief, — some 
prophet's touch to rouse the dead body of the 
Church to a new and Christ-like life ? 

Do we not need some new outpouring of the 
Holy Spirit, and a renewed and quickened faith 
in the power and efficacy of prayer ? Have we 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 9 

a vital, practical belief in the promised influences 
of the Spirit, in the assurance that if we ask 
anything according to the Father's will, He will 
hear and answer the petition ? 

Abstractions, forms and creeds, the mere in- 
culcation of facts, or intellectual teaching alone, 
will not satisfy ; and individual souls are ear- 
nestly looking for a better administration, for 
some nobler and higher development of faith 
and love. 

What part, then, has the Sunday school to 
perform in meeting, in any good degree, these 
wants and needs ? What should be the true aim 
and object of its instructions ? How are its 
highest ends to be sustained and carried out ? 
How is it to be rendered an efficient co-worker 
with the Church, in the regeneration of individual 
souls, in leading young hearts to Christ, as the 
only sufficient, the divinely appointed Mediator 
and Redeemer ? 

Questions such as these, prompted by no mo- 
mentary impulse of excitement or discourage- 
ment, but proceeding from various and widely 
separated quarters, demand the due considera- 
tion and serious reflection of every individual in- 
terested in the welfare of the Church, or engaged 
in the sacred calling of the Christian teacher. 

The future, and the future alone, can and will 
bear true and enduring witness, whether they are 
now faithfully met and answered. 



10 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 



CHAPTER II. 



THE WANTS OF OUR SUNDAY SCHOOLS. 



"As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the 
vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me." 

"And still in accents sweet and strong, 
Sounds, as of old, the word : 
More laborers for the harvest, now ! 
More reapers for the Lord ! " 



The present state of our Sunday schools in dif- 
ferent denominations may be regarded under two 
distinct aspects. The general, careless observ- 
er, content with mere outward appearance, and 
satisfied with statistical results, would tell us 
of the increased number of such institutions, 
of the multiplication of the pupils, the books 
studied, the popularity of this or that teacher, 
the successful annual celebration, and the ap- 
parent general interest manifested in the con- 
cerns of the school. He would congratulate the 
pupils upon their advantages, tell them how 
much greater their privileges than those en- 
joyed by preceding generations, and, satisfied 
with having given his meed of praise, rest 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 11 

contentedly in the belief that little more is 
needed, and that it would be both unwise and 
unreasonable to expect greater or more definite 
results. 

To the observant eye and thoughtful mind, 
even a cursory view would lead to a far different 
conclusion. Accustomed to a higher stand-point, 
looking beneath the mere exterior and surface 
of things, he would find abundant food for 
careful investigation and serious thought. He 
would see wants to be met, defects to be rem- 
edied, plans to be reorganized, a living spirit 
to be infused, and a nobler and higher end to 
be achieved. 

Regardless of statistical information or of any 
reputed worth, he would compare the true spirit 
of these institutions with the spirit of Christ, 
and acknowledge their actual value and impor- 
tance just so far as they breathed the spirit 
and manifested the power of the religion of 
Jesus of Nazareth. 

How, then, we would freely ask, can our 
schools be rendered more conducive to their 
true ends ? What are some of their most 
prominent wants and defects ? What changes 
are truly and pressingly needed among us ? 

First, we would speak of the time usually 
set apart for such religious instruction. 

The greater part of six days of the week is 
devoted by the pupils of our Sabbath schools 
2 



12 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

to studies of a secular nature, guided by those 
who have long been preparing for their work, 
and whose whole time and best energies are 
given to its faithful prosecution. Why should 
all the direct religious instruction received by 
them, apart from religious home influences, upon 
all the vast themes of eternity and immortal- 
ity, be confined to one single hour of the Sab- 
bath? Even then the teacher sometimes affirms 
that "the school has been too long, and that 
the pupils are weary " ! 

To have any systematic, definite course of 
instruction pursued, and more worthy ends ac- 
complished, the school should not be crowded 
into a single hour of the Sabbath. More time 
should be sacredly set apart for it, and during 
that portion of the day when both mind and 
body are fresh and vigorous. To have all the gen- 
eral exercises of the school, — reading, singing, 
often some address from the pastor or superin- 
tendent, the direct instruction in the classes, the 
exchange of library books, &c, — comprised in a 
single hour, seems utterly without reason. To 
pass from the morning service at church to the 
duties of the school, then to attend a second ser- 
vice, and perhaps a Bible class, once a month 
the communion service intervening, with hardly 
a half hour's intermission, is rendering that a 
mere task-work, and often a mere mechanical 
form, which demands the freshest energies and 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 13 

the exercise of the best powers of the soul. In- 
deed, from the manner of some, it would seem 
as if they imagined that the greater the amount 
of such labor accomplished on the Sabbath the 
greater the merit, forgetting that a spiritual wor- 
ship demands a spiritual preparation, and that 
no class of children, however young or ignorant, 
can be truly instructed and interested where 
there is a conscious mental weariness or in- 
difference on the part of the teacher. 

Whatever the amount of time any school 
may see fit to set apart for religious instruc- 
tion, — and this, of course, must somewhat vary 
with different places and different customs of 
society, — we would strongly advocate the morn- 
ing hours during the year being sacredly de- 
voted to this work. 

Let at least an hour and a half be thus se- 
cured, and a new impulse, we doubt not, would 
be given to the efficiency of many of our schools. 
Let the children assemble when a hurried dinner 
is just over, or at the close of the afternoon ser- 
vice, and it requires little observation to mark 
the difference between the apparent interest 
then taken in the exercises, and that manifested 
during the fresh morning hour, when there is no 
weariness or listlessness. " What! is our morn- 
ing school to be closed so soon ? " exclaimed a 
bright-eyed little girl as her teacher informed 
her of the usual change of hours on the succeed- 



14 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

ing Sabbath. " I know I have a long walk to 
take, but if all of us can get to school at nine 
o'clock on week days, I do n't see why we can- 
not come at the same hour on Sundays ; our 
morning schools are so much pleasanter ! " 

Might not such an end be attained in many 
instances, and punctuality secured, by a deeper 
interest and a little effort on the part of parents, 
and perchance by a little sacrifice of indulgence 
or ease on the part of teachers ? One hour of 
the time thus set apart we would have ex- 
clusively devoted to direct instruction in the 
classes; the remaining portion to be occupied 
by prayer, the reading of the Scriptures, either 
by the superintendent alone or alternately with 
the pupils, accompanied by some simple expo- 
sition, singing, and occasionally an address from 
the pastor, superintendent, or some competent 
person. 

Next, we would earnestly and solemnly utter 
our protest against the tendency, too common, 
of rendering our schools mere places of amuse- 
ment to children. Religious instruction should, 
indeed, be rendered cheerful, interesting, and at- 
tractive ; but to degrade religion from its native 
dignity, to divest it of its eternal importance 
and solemnity, in order to excite the momen- 
tary smile or laugh by some undignified illustra- 
tion, or a mere familiar, off-hand manner of ad- 
dress, or to occupy the limited time by mere 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 15 

story-telling, or a vague, rambling talk, without 
point or force, is utterly unworthy the sacred 
hours of the Sabbath, and the object of the school. 
No one should ever attempt to addres*s a school 
unless he has some definite idea in his own mind 
of what he wishes to say, and then his words 
should be simple, brief, serious, and to the point. 
Children cannot be too deeply or too early im- 
pressed with the solemn reverence due to all the 
themes of religion ; and where this is in any 
measure violated, *an infinite wrong is done to 
the cause of truth and holiness. Were those 
few solemn words of the Saviour's, " God is a 
Spirit, and they who worship him must worship 
him in spirit and in truth," ever to be remem- 
bered by those who conduct such institutions, 
and by all engaged as teachers, — were they to 
know from experience what is meant by 

"The perfect power of godliness, 
" The omnipotence of love," 

we believe that all tendency to flippancy and 
lightness, ever to be deprecated by every serious 
mind, would soon disappear. 

" The effort," says another, " sometimes seems 
to be, not so much to lift the infant spirit up to 
heaven, as to draw the dread majesty of heaven 
down to earth, and to place in the child's mind 
an entire and satisfying image of the unseen 
and eternal Jehovah. It is deemed not enough 
that he should worship,— -he must thoroughly 
2* 



16 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

comprehend, the divine nature and attributes. It 
should be borne in mind, that the distinct and 
satisfying ideas of infancy are early outgrown ; 
and if the idea of God no more than fills the 
narrow walls of the infant spirit, it will not grow 
with the growth of the mind, but will soon be 
outgrown and cast into contemptuous oblivion. 
If the idea of unsearchableness and immensity 
be sustained in the child's mind, and with every 
new stage of progress the feeling be impressed, 
' Lo, these are parts of his ways, but how little 
a portion is heard of him,' then there is indefi- 
nite room for the conception of God to expand 
with the growth of the mind, and still for the 
devout emotions to have a field reaching beyond 
that of clear vision and distinct thought, far 
away into infinity." 

Let religious truths be rendered attractive, but 
attractive through their own innate grandeur, 
dignity, and worth ; impressive, through their 
infinite importance and solemn message to the 
individual soul. Such instructions, and such 
only, do we need ; for only truths thus presented, 
ministering to the highest wants and deepest 
cravings of the soul, will render our schools 
places of vital religious growth, and a true spir- 
itual nurture. 

The devotional exercises, also, should be such 
as to promote this same feeling of reverence, to 
quicken faith, and to deepen and strengthen the 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 17 

love of prayer in the hearts of the pupils. Wheth- 
er this result can best be attained by the use of 
responses, or otherwise, the true and ultimate 
end is one and the same. 

In whatever outward form the prayer is of- 
fered, its language should be at once reverential 
and simple, adapted to the capacities of the pu- 
pils, and embodying such petitions as may bear 
upon their peculiar temptations, wants, and spir- 
itual needs. In many schools, such is far from 
being the case. The language used is too often 
entirely above their comprehension, and the pe- 
titions such as are adapted to the wants of an 
adult congregation rather than to the impulsive 
hearts of children. They understand not the 
words, and, as a natural result, feel that it is a 
mere form, belonging to the teachers rather than 
to themselves, and in which they have no part to 
take. Often, wearied with the length of the ex- 
ercise, they become restless and uneasy, and 
prayer, instead of being regarded as a holy and 
delightful privilege, becomes a tedious and barren 
form. In adapting the words of the prayer to 
the capacities of the child, it is not necessary in 
any way to lessen its devout reverence ; — for 
what exercise of the school is more solemn or im- 
portant than that of approaching in supplication 
Him before whom the very heavens are not 
clean ? Let the petitions, thanksgiving, and 
praise, the supplication for strength and help, 



18 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

and the divine blessing through the Redeemer, 
be brief, concise, and heart-felt. Let them be 
clothed in simple, yet always in the most rever- 
ential language, and let one of the first lessons 
in every school be, to impress on the minds of 
the pupils the solemnity of this portion of the 
service, the part they are to take in it, and the 
inestimable privilege of being thus permitted, in 
then- weakness and ignorance, to approach the 
Father of all. Brevity is of all-essential impor- 
tance in this service. A prayer of three or four 
minutes is far more impressive than one of ten, 
to a child; — and may we not add, to the teacher 
also? 

Where the peculiar " gift of prayer " is want- 
ing in superintendent or teacher, so that he can- 
not rely upon the promptings of the moment to 
express his deepest thoughts, let some simple 
form be prepared, to which he may always turn 
for assistance. 

What is wanting more than all is the true 
spirit of prayer, — a personal sense of dependence 
on the Saviour, and a devout, reverential trust 
and faith in the Father. Where such a spirit 
exists, the general prayer, whether it be in the 
words of an oft-repeated form, or the spontane- 
ous expression of the moment, simple, confiding, 
and child-like, cannot but be uttered in such a 
manner as to attract and fix the attention of the 
school. 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 19 

As this exercise is now conducted in many of 
our schools, it needs no keen observation to see 
what a mere ceremony it is to the greater part of 
the pupils. The baneful influence to the indi- 
vidual of such habits of inattention, of spiritual 
listlessness, of wandering thoughts, and cold ir- 
reverence, cannot be overestimated. 

A decided change is needed. If prayer be a 
divine ordinance, if it be the privilege and duty 
of every soul to approach in supplication the 
Father of spirits, to bring before the Eternal its 
wants and desires, fears and aspirations, let us 
have, at least in schools dedicated to His service 
and bearing the Saviour's name, some mode of 
conducting this sacred service more hallowed 
and more impressive. No matter how brief, no 
matter how simple, if it be reverential, devout, 
earnest, and sincere. The most impressive pray- 
ers in which we have ever joined in any school 
were those clothed in language so simple that 
every child could understand their meaning, and 
yet so devout, so earnest, so solemn and impres- 
sive, that a feeling of awe and hushed reverence 
stole irresistibly over the spirit, as it felt in whose 
presence it stood. 

An abundance of words, a repetition of phrases, 
or numerous subjects of entreaty, are not needed 
to give force and impressiveness to this act. A 
few brief petitions fervently and earnestly uttered 
will dwell in the heart when a longer form would 



20 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

all be forgotten. Spiritual life there must be, or 
prayer will ever become a mere form ; spiritual 
earnestness and sincerity there must be, or the 
petitions offered will all be devoid of meaning ; 
spiritual communion with the Saviour there must 
be, for he alone leads us to the Father, as the 
Way, Truth, and Life. 

There is still another want in our schools, 
more obvious perhaps to the general eye, and 
one which in some way "must be speedily met 
and remedied, — - a want not confined to any one 
sect or denomination, but common in a greater 
or less degree to all ; namely, a sufficient number 
of competent teachers. 

Judging in the abstract, with no definite knowl- 
edge or personal acquaintance with the details 
of the system, we should at once suppose that 
wherever a Christian congregation was gathered, 
there would be found an abundant supply of all 
the materials requisite to conduct such a school, 
and to render it what it ever should be, an insti- 
tution for the Christian nurture of children and 
youth. We should imagine that no command 
of the Great Shepherd would be more readily 
fulfilled, than that of faithfully feeding the sheep 
and lambs of his flock ; of seeking to bring the 
ignorant, the degraded, the homeless, and the 
prodigal into his sheltering fold. But a knowl- 
edge of the actual and existing state of things 
leads to a far different result. Many there are 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 21 

earnestly, faithfully, and sincerely engaged in 
this work, but the supply of willing, able, and 
competent teachers is far less than the demand. 
What proportion, indeed, do the teachers, in 
most of our schools, bear to the entire adult con- 
gregation, or to those not detained by more 
pressing home duties from taking a part in the 
work ; and of that proportion, why is it that so 
few are from the busy scenes of life, — those 
whose position and calling would at once make 
their influence felt, — the men of business and 
education, of science and letters ? Is the em- 
ployment beneath their notice ? Is it simply 
a matter*of indifference, or do they really doubt 
its utility and efficiency ? 

A plea of unfitness for the work, or of want of 
time, is seldom a sincere excuse; for, were its 
importance actually felt, those alive on other 
subjects to their individual responsibility would 
not be backward in seeking, at least, to prepare 
themselves for this noble vocation ; and want of 
time is seldom offered as an excuse in any world- 
ly calling, where pleasure, or gain, or preferment 
is the expected reward. 

Go into almost any school, and you will find 
some class without any permanent teacher ; the 
more advanced pupils often asking in vain for 
those who can lead them on in their studies, and 
guide their inquiries, and help their examination 
of the truth. 



22 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

Often does the entire superintendence of the 
school devolve on the pastor, whose duties in 
the pulpit exhaust his energies, and tax his 
powers, and who ought never to feel obliged to 
undertake these additional services on the Sab- 
bath, however much his heart may be in the 
work. 

" "What am I to do ? " said the faithful and de- 
voted minister of one of our largest congrega- 
tions, not long since. " Our valued superintend- 
ent removed from the city some months ago, and 
there is not a single individual in my parish upon 
whom I can call to fill the vacancy. True, there 
are some who would gladly seek this somewhat 
public post, but who are utterly unfitted for its 
duties ; and those who seem capable of taking 
such a position are unwilling. What, then, can 
I do ? Either the school must be closed, or I 
must be present to conduct its general exercises, 
besides having the instruction of a Bible class 
of young men. I shall continue these labors," 
he added, " so long as health and strength are 
granted, but if these fail, the school must seek 
some other support." 

Is there not something radically wrong wher- 
ever this state of things exists ? Is the pastor of 
the church the only one to offer the social prayer, 
and break the bread of life to his youthful flock ? 
Ought he to be the only one capable of instruct- 
ing the inquiring minds of those advancing to 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 23 

maturer years, and of leading them on to the 
higher phases of religious truth ? Is there not a 
half-acknowledged feeling among many, and 
especially among men of business, that this 
work belongs only to the staged minister of the 
Gospel, or to a chosen and retired few, — that 
they have no responsibility with regard to it, — 
or that if they give pecuniary aid to the support 
of Christian institutions, they are wholly excused 
from giving what is of greater importance, their 
personal influence, example, and effort ? 

Will the fidelity of one, or of a few, excuse the 
indifference or negligence of the many? Had 
each individual statedly worshipping in our 
churches, and thus acknowledging, in outward 
form at least, his belief in Christ, sought faith- 
fully to fulfil his own part in spreading the 
knowledge of a Saviour, would there be the 
heathenism that now exists beneath the very 
shadows of our churches and our homes? Do 
such reply, that little good comes of this instruc- 
tion, and that they can accomplish nothing in 
this cause ? 

Let them look to the noble examples of those 
Christian men, whose patient perseverance, ear- 
nest effort, and devoted fidelity, have accom- 
plished so much in rendering our schools in some 
degree what they should be, — men, not only 
faithful in the private walks of life, but taking a 
foremost part in all that concerns the public good r 
3 



24 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

active in business, interested in the higher pur- 
suits of literature, and yet always finding time 
to prepare themselves for the humblest duties of 
instruction, and entering into all the details of 
school duties with* as much interest and zeal as 
if these constituted their sole employment. 

Thankfully do we acknowledge the influence 
of all such now laboring in the field ; and with 
gratitude would we remember those passed 
within the veil, but whose spiritual influence still 
dwells among us, and whose prayers and inter- 
cessions are still poured forth in behalf of a work 
so dear to them while here. Their memories 
will long be cherished in grateful and loving 
hearts ; and whose but the All-seeing Eye can 
measure the extent of their Christian influence 
and trusting faith ? 

No : the Gospel offers no license to any class of 
men, or any individuals, to throw off their per- 
sonal responsibilities on others. Each one must 
give account of himself unto God. Every dis- 
ciple of Christ is called on to labor in some 
way in his vineyard, to aid in gathering in the 
harvest, waiting only for the faithful reapers, — 
for, "inasmuch as ye did it not to the least Of 
these, my brethren, ye did it not to me." 

We repeat, our schools demand more and 
better qualified teachers, if they are to be per- 
manently sustained, — if they are truly to be 
co-workers with the Church in the regeneration 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 25 

of individual souls. Systematic, regular, and 
thorough- instruction is needed ; and to facilitate 
this end, we also pressingly need a higher order 
of manuals, and better works of illustration than 
are now generally used among us. We are 
aware that this want has been partially met by 
works published within the last two years, but 
still it is far from being fully supplied. And 
what field of labor more useful and more invit- 
ing than this, — demanding a practical experience 
in the office of teaching, united with the requi- 
site intellectual and spiritual qualifications ? 

Again and again are the questions asked, How 
is the interest of the older pupils to be sustained ? 
How are young men, especially, to be retained 
under our influence, and at the very age when 
they most need the restraining power of Chris- 
tian institutions and Christian example ? What 
means should be taken to bring the poorer and 
more ignorant classes of children under the in- 
fluence of our best schools, and how may regu- 
larity of attendance and a true interest be secured 
among such ? * 

Many and various are the answers that might 
be given to these questions. If a sufficient num- 
ber of faithful and competent teachers were pro- 
vided for every such institution, other difficul- 
ties would soon be overcome. In what the neces- 
sary qualifications consist we shall hereafter con- 
sider ; in this chapter we have designed only to 



26 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

refer to the more prominent wants and defects 
of our schools. 

In speaking of these wants, we would not be 
unmindful of the good hitherto accomplished by 
means of this agency, of the quickening and 
holy influences that ever react on the teacher's 
own soul, where the duty of instruction is under- 
taken with any vital feeling of its solemn and 
deep importance. We would remember those 
who have been rescued from lives of sin and 
ignominy, the many hearts that have been led to 
a deeper faith, a purer love, and a more spiritual 
walk and life through the simple, earnest words 
spoken from week to week by some faithful 
teacher, often unconscious how deeply his own 
spirit was impressing the youthful mind, ap- 
parently so thoughtless and unconcerned. 

Fully and freely acknowledging the good, the 
question still recurs, Are our Sabbath schools all 
that they ought to be ? Are they fulfilling their 
highest and only true end ? Are they, in truth, 
living- branches of the one true Vine ? 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 27 



CHAPTER III. 



THE TRUE OBJECT OF SUNDAY-SCHOOL INSTRUCTION. 



" 1 am the Way, the Truth, and the Life : no man cometh unto the 
Father but by me." 



When a teacher enters upon his duties, and 
voluntarily assumes the responsibilities of a spir- 
itual guide and instructor of others, he has, or at 
least he ought to have, some definite idea of 
the objects to be attained, and of the means 
by which such ends may be accomplished. 

The first, most important, and all-essential 
questions for him to ask himself, whether he 
has these duties in contemplation only, or has 
long been engaged in the work, are these : 
What aim am I to keep steadily in view ? What 
should be the true object of my instruction and 
influence ? Is it to implant religious knowledge 
only in the minds of those committed to my 
care, or to achieve still more the higher end of 
awakening in their souls a spiritual life, a per- 
sonal love to the Saviour, and a profound indi- 
3* 



28 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

vidual trust and faith in the universal Father ? 
Is it sufficient that I make a faithful intellectual 
preparation for my work, — make myself ac- 
quainted with its various details, and become fa- 
miliar with its facts of geography, history, and 
chronology, — or is there not imperative a high- 
er spiritual preparation, by which alone I can 
speak to the hearts of those under my care ? 

To impart religious knowledge alone to the 
mind of the child we deem of unspeakable im- 
portance ; to make him clearly and definitely ac- 
quainted with the great facts and truths of relig- 
ion, and with the foundation on which those truths 
rest, is doing a work which, accompanied by the 
divine blessing, may be sanctified to his eternal 
salvation. If such teaching be regular, syste- 
matic, and thorough, its importance cannot 
be over-estimated, for it is the best safeguard 
against superstition, and the foundation of all 
free, personal inquiry and conviction. 

The simple hymns of childhood, and the verses 
of Scripture faithfully committed to memory, 
even when imperfectly understood, will often 
recur to the mind in after years, and repeat 
their lessons of warning, encouragement, and 
hope, in tones that will not and cannot be re- 
sisted. Amid scenes of pleasure and gayety, or 
of trial and grief, amid the festive throng, or in 
the hushed and darkened chamber of illness, in 
hours of stern temptation and bitter conflict, 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 29 

when manly strength is weakened, and the 
pride of human power laid low, or in the calm 
and quiet hour of repose, when the spirit of 
God moves over the soul, and says to every 
unholy passion, " Peace, be still " ; then will 
these words of truth often return with irresist- 
ible power, and become the medium by which 
the Spirit speaks to the soul, ever repeating 
these blessed words of encouragement and en- 
treaty, " Whosoever will, let him freely come." 

We repeat, the importance of imparting relig- 
ious knowledge, if the teacher be thoroughly 
and faithfully fitted for his work, cannot be 
over-estimated. Take a child from a home of 
misery and sin, of ignorance and degradation, 
bring him under the influence of a well-regu- 
lated and orderly school, and if he only learns 
to repeat the Lord's Prayer, and the simple 
words, " Thou God seest me," it will not have 
been wholly in vain. Some spiritual power will 
be quickened, some dormant feeling aroused, 
some higher purpose enkindled. The very words, 
" Our Father, who art in heaven," will at some 
time awaken an inquiring thought, and a de- 
sire to learn of that paternal love and that 
higher spiritual state of which as yet he knows 
nothing. 

Ought the teacher to be content with a mere 
mechanical recitation, or even with a faithful, 
interesting, intellectual discussion of the same? 



30 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

Does his duty consist wholly or chiefly in im- 
parting facts and* scriptural knowledge to the 
young and inquiring mind? Will intellectual 
truths alone ever lead the soul to a true self- 
knowledge, to feel its weakness and sin, and its 
need of pardon through the Saviour ? 

Whatever may have been accomplished by 
such teaching, we feel more and more con- 
vinced that if any school possesses a vital, 
real, religious worth, efficiency, and power, it is 
just in proportion to the amount of true spir- 
itual faith and life brought to bear upon the 
pupils by the individual teachers. 

To awaken the spiritual life in another soul, 
to rouse the dormant affections and lead them 
to God, to persuade the spirit to feel its per- 
sonal indebtedness to Christ as a Saviour, to 
kindle within it a deep sense of its need of 
divine renewal, and of pardon and salvation 
through a crucified Redeemer, — these are the 
highest, the noblest aims, such as are alone wor- 
thy the Christian teacher, and without which he 
ought never to assume such responsibilities. 

The simple facts of Gospel truth are compar- 
atively easy to teach, and here too many rest 
satisfied. Will such teaching be deemed suffi- 
cient in that hour when we are called upon in 
the Master's nearer presence to render up an 
account of the souls committed to our charge? 
No : there must first be in the heart the fire of 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 31 

devotion kindled from the secret altar, the real- 
izing sense of divine things, the consciousness 
of addressing immortal spirits, if our words are 
to have any vital efficacy. Intellectual teaching, 
and the storing of the mind with religious facts 
and truths, is all-important in its place ; but 
this alone never touches the heart, never calls 
forth the warm emotion, the grateful prayer, the 
repentant sigh. Soul must speak to soul. The 
child quickly and intuitively perceives when the 
whole heart is interested, 'and if this is wanting, 
truth, however divine, will fall cold and lifeless 
from his teacher's lips. 

How many pupils are there who could relate 
accurately all the leading facts of the Gospel 
history! but is there a corresponding heart- 
knowledge, an interest in divine truths as a per- 
sonal concern, vitally affecting the whole im- 
mortal being and destiny ? And to how many 
in our schools, and in our churches, alas! is 
Christ only a dim, unreal abstraction of the 
Bible, with no reality and no vital power ! "Why 
is it that comparatively few, as they leave our 
schools, especially young men, take any active 
part in the support of religious institutions, or 
feel any strong attachment to the Church ; — and 
that, during the very season of life when the 
soul most needs divine support and guidance, 
the feelings of self-reliance and self-confidence 
are so prevalent and strong? 



32 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

Whatever may have been the deficiencies of 
home education, is not the evil to be ascribed, 
in a great measure, to the instructions imparted 
in our Sabbath schools ? Must not the young 
be led to a holier self-consecration, to a deeper 
sense of the vital importance of religious truth, 
to a quickening consciousness of the worth of 
the soul, if we would have them in after years 
living pillars of the Church of Christ ? Must 
they not be led to accept of Jesus as their 
Saviour in early youth, if in maturer years the 
soul would lay its purest offering of consecra- 
tion and gratitude on the sacred altar of com- 
memoration ? 

This leads us to consider another defect in 
much of the teaching of the present day, and 
one which is most radical and vital. We refer 
to the manner in which, by many, Christ is pre- 
sented to the mind of the child. He is taught 
to look upon this pure and holy being as one 
whose example he is to imitate, whose teach- 
ings he is to obey, whose benevolent and loving 
life he is to follow in his walk among men, — in 
a word, as his Teacher and Guide alone ; but 
the idea of Christ as his Saviour, the knowl- 
edge of the weakness and sin of his own heart, 
of his individual need of regeneration and sal- 
vation, and hope of happiness through the sole 
mediation of Christ, — these are views by many 
wholly excluded in the religious instruction of 
the young. 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 33 

The solemn words of Christ with regard to 
the resurrection of the evil as well as the good, 
his representations of the sufferings of the im- 
penitent, and 'of the ruin and loss of the soul 
save through humble penitence and a living faith 
in him, are too often left in the background ; 
while representations of God's mercy, and of the 
greatness and dignity of human nature, are re- 
garded as alone sufficient for the regeneration of 
the soul. In such teachings, is not a grievous 
wrong done to the mind of the child ? Are we 
not substituting a superficial, sentimental piety, 
for the brave, whole-souled, hearty consecration 
of the whole spirit ? 

Were the teacher aware of the doubt and 
mental trials he is preparing for his pupil in after 
years, if he be one of any brightness of intellect 
or quickness of moral perceptions, by such par- 
tial representations of the truths of the Gospel, 
we believe that, if unaccustomed to mental re- 
search or studious inquiry, he would pause and 
ponder, and consider with earnest thought the 
truth of his teachings in their whole bearing, ere 
writing them out in ineffaceable lines on the sus- 
ceptible heart of childhood. 

We need to have truths presented honestly 
and fairly ; to have sin, of whatever form, called 
sin, in all its native deformity and evil ; to have 
the inevitable suffering and punishment of sin 
solemnly and faithfully set forth ; and the hope 



34 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

of pardon brought home to the soul, as dependent 
on the free mercy of God revealed in Christ, as 
the only Saviour of men. We need to have the 
necessity of the new birth, — of the conversion 
and regeneration of the soul from sin to holiness, 
— taught as an essential truth of the Gospel to 
every individual, and not to let the abundant 
mercy and goodness of God be so abused as to 
leave out of sight his equally divine attributes 
of holiness and justice ; but, through the clear, 
full representation of these, to have the soul led 
to him, through Christ as the Saviour who can 
redeem it from the power of sin ; as the Saviour 
who gives the assurance of future happiness and 
eternal life to the regenerate spirit as indeed the 
very gift of God> — Christ, the power of God and 
the wisdom of God ; the only name under heav- 
en, given among men, whereby we can be saved. 

" ' Thou must be born again ! ' 
Such was the solemn -word 
To him who came, not all in vain, 
By night to seek his Lord. 

" ' Thou must be born again ! ' 
But not the birth of clay ; 
The immortal seed must thence obtain 
Deliverance unto day. 

" Thou canst not choose but trace 
The steps thy Master trod, 
If once' thou feel his truth and grace, 
A conscious child of God." 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 35 

Feeling this truth, and conscious of the divine 
help and blessing, let the teacher go to his work 
in the spirit of faith and of prayer. Let him 
converse judiciously, yet freely, with his pupils 
on their personal religious concerns, teaching 
them the necessity of a new birth, of their weak- 
ness and helplessness without divine aid, of the 
certainty of a righteous retribution, and thus 
leading them to Christ as a personal Saviour. 
Let him teach them, through his own life-giving 
spirit, that, however young, they have a part in 
the promises and hopes of the Gospel ; and nev- 
er let him rest satisfied with listening merely to 
a recitation, o.r teaching mere facts. Such a Sab- 
bath hour, if not lost, is far, very far, from ac- 
complishing its highest end. 

Immortal spirits are before you, — spirits with 
earnest aspirations, longing desires, strong pas- 
sions, and warm affections, — spirits capable of 
rising to an archangel's glory, or of sinking into 
degradation, misery, and spiritual death. 

Have you no direct, earnest message to such ? 
No word of personal appeal, of gentle sympathy 
and encouragement, or of solemn warning ? 
Living now in eternity, with the solemnities of 
being for ever encompassing you, must your 
lips be sealed upon the most momentous of all 
themes, those which directly affect the eternal, 
immortal destiny of those under your care ? 

How much might be gained by this free com- 
4 



36 BEGINNING AND GROWTn 

munion of soul with soul, especially among the 
older pupils ! It is no longer the sometimes cold 
and mere mechanical relation of teacher and pu- 
pil, but immortal spirits pressing on to the same 
heavenly goal ! 

Pressingly and deeply do we need in all our 
schools the life of religious sensibility, a faith 
that trusts in God, a realizing sense of depend- 
ence on the Saviour, a felt reality in things invis- 
ible. We need to have truths brought home to 
the heart, baptized in the living light of the Gos- 
pel, sanctified by the influences of the Spirit. 
The mere outward form of the lesson, important 
as it is, sinks into comparative insignificance, 
when this one great end of all religious teaching 
is inwardly recognized, — to labor for the regen- 
eration and salvation of immortal souls. 

Such aims, and such alone, are worthy of our 
Sabbath schools, or of any mode of religious 
teaching; and such alone, kept steadily and con- 
stantly in view, will render them efficient means 
of usefulness, — schools of a noble, true, and ele- 
vated Christian nurture. 

In the deeply interesting memoir of the late Dr. 
Judson, — that devoted missionary of the cross, 
whose labors, sufferings, and entire self-consecra- 
tion to his Master's service have given him a 
name worthy to be ranked among the noblest 
and most faithful of the followers of Christ in 
any age, — we find the following passage, which 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 37 

affords a key to the secret of his ultimate success 
and influence, whether among Burmans, Karens, 
or Hindoos. 

" He always kept one object steadily in view, 
to the exclusion of every other. It was, not to 
teach men a creed, or to train them to the per- 
formance of certain rites, or to persuade them to 
belong to a particular church, but, first of all, to 
produce in them a radical change of moral char- 
acter, to lead them to repent of and forsake all 
sin, to love God with an affection that should 
transcend in power every other motive, and to 

rely for salvation on faith in Christ It 

was by embracing every opportunity which his 
intercourse with men presented to tell them of 
the love of Christ, of their danger and their duty, 
and to urge them, in Christ's stead, to be recon- 
ciled to God." 

Keeping this one aim distinctly in view, de- 
voting to it the whole energy of a strong and 
controlling will, pursuing it with indomitable 
fixedness of purpose, never allowing himself to 
be turned aside by any temptations to ease, by 
the most fearful personal suffering, or even by 
the allurements of society or literary enjoyment, 
resolutely, firmly, and prayerfully he pursued this 
high calling, — to reclaim the ignorant and the 
wandering, and to make known to them the un- 
searchable riches of Christ. 

Is it said that these representations of the true 



38 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

aim and object of Sunday-school instruction as 
have here been given present a standard alto- 
gether too high, and such as would repel many 
who might otherwise be induced to enter into 
its labors ? Far indeed be it from us to say any- 
thing, here or anywhere, that would repel one 
true desire, discourage one sincere purpose, or 
repress one single effort to do good in any form. 
" He that is not against us is for us," were the 
words of the one chief Shepherd ; but he also 
added, " He that gathereth not with me, scatter- 
eth abroad." We do not believe that a deter- 
minate aim and a lofty standard, to any brave, 
resolute, aspiring soul, will ever prove discour- 
aging. There is always something fascinating, 
as well as noble and Christian, in keeping such 
a standard in view. A true knowledge of the 
deepest wants, as well as of the highest aspira- 
tions, of the human soul is revealed in those 
words of the Saviour : " Be ye perfect, even as 
your Father in heaven is perfect." 

" We cannot be too rich in faith, 

We cannot be too strong of "wing; 
Thyself, — thyself thou offerest 
To our sublime endeavoring." 

What but such an aim, and such a lofty stand- 
ard, and such a working faith, sustained the 
glowing enthusiasm and earnestness of Paul, 
leading him to brave undauntedly persecution, 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 39 

suffering, and death, the scoffs of rulers and the 
indignities of the multitude, so that he might 
win souls to Christ ? What but this can sustain 
the heart and quicken the faithful zeal of any 
true Christian teacher, however humble his du- 
ties may seem to the world's eye ? 

Give us this, and other defects will soon be 
remedied. Give us this, and there will be vital- 
ity and power where now there is deadness and 
indifference. Give us such aims, such a spirit, 
such a life, in any school, or any band of teach- 
ers, — nay, in any one teacher, — and it will tell 
on the open and yielding heart of childhood, 
"with a benignity of influence, of such holy 
and regenerative power, as no reach of vision, 
save that prophetic eye that looks into the im- 
mortal ages, can measure." 



40 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 



CHAPTER IV. 



QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. FAITH IN 

CHRIST AND SELF-CONSECRATION. 



" A living faith in Christ implies an immediate, conscious, personal 
relation." 

" Our blest Redeemer, ere he breathed 
His tender, last farewell, 
A Guide, a Comforter bequeathed 
With us to dwell. 

" He came sweet influence to impart, 
A gracious, willing guest, 
While he can find one humble heart 
Wherein to rest. 

" And every virtue we possess, 
And every victory won, 
And every thought of holiness, 
Are his alone." 



Having spoken of the true and definite aim 
which every teacher should keep constantly in 
view, the question naturally suggests itself, 
"Who are fitted to fill this office? What 
qualifications are essential to form a successful 
teacher of religious truths ? Are high attain- 
ments and a mature religious experience neces- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 41 

sary, ere one assumes this office ? What per- 
sonal traits of character are requisite to render 
one a true and faithful guide to the young and 
inexperienced ? " 

We would answer, in general terms, that but 
one thing is absolutely essential, for where this 
exists, all else will follow naturally and in its 
due time ; namely, the self "Consecration of the soul 
to God through Christ. Let there only be this one 
purpose, this one sincere desire, to love and obey 
God, to follow Christ in heart and in life, to be 
his earnest, true, and faithful disciple, and how- 
ever young, however inexperienced, the soul thus 
consecrated cannot but exert a power that will 
diffuse its own silent and secret influence over 
other spirits. It may make no pretensions, utter 
no formal words of piety, never intrude its con- 
victions at unseasonable times or places, but its 
power will be felt and known. It can no more 
conceal the true source of its hidden life and 
light than the sun can hide its beams at noon- 
day. It may imagine its own sphere too narrow 
and too limited to attract any notice from others, 
or it may go on in the regular and faithful per- 
formance of daily duty, and, like Mrs. Ware, be 
all unmindful of the mighty influence exerted 
over thousands of other souls, so quietly, so un- 
consciously, and yet so trustingly, had the work 
been wrought. The power is there, the attrac- 
tion which binds the soul to Christ is felt, and 



42 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

where more readily than by the loving heart of 
childhood ? We may see the thousand imper- 
fections of others, we may doubt the efficacy of 
their teachings and question their influence, but 
if the love of Christ be in the soul a potent 
spring of action, if its ruling desire be to mani- 
fest its heart-felt gratitude by a life of obedience, 
if its prevailing purpose be to draw nearer and 
nearer in a heart-union with Him, that desire and 
that purpose will touch the hearts of the young 
and untried, and will kindle holier feelings, and 
purer affections, and warmer aspirations. The 
Saviour sent forth his early Apostles to labor in 
his vineyard, not as those who were perfect in 
spirit, but as those who loved him above all hu- 
man friends, and were ready to relinquish all to 
do his will. When we witness the mighty influ- 
ence of their simple and earnest appeals, when 
we hear them speaking as with tongues of fire, 
and see the thousands converted in a single day, 
— when we see them bravely and undauntedly 
confronting persecution, ignominy, and death, 
that they might win souls to Christ, distrusting 
their own strength, yet strong in the power of 
the Omnipotent, — we feel that there was a hid- 
den source of power, a secret spring of influence, 
which ever acted upon their souls, quickening, 
purifying, and elevating ; a love, deep, fervent, 
and unquenchable, to their divine Master. 

Is it said, that this alone can never render one 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 43 

an effective teacher of others ? Feel this inward 
attraction in your own heart, — know from per- 
sonal experience the secret guidance and influ- 
ence of the Spirit, -r- and then give the only true 
answer. 

" O, hope of every contrite heart ! 
O, joy of all the meek ! 
To those who fall how kind thou art ! 
How good to those who seek ! 

" But what to those who find ? Ah, this 
Nor tongue nor pen can show ! 
The love of Jesus, what it is 
None but his loved ones know." 

How beautiful and powerful are the influences 
flowing from such a principle of action ! Look at 
the gentle and loving Schwartz,* whose life was 
passed on the distant plains of India, amid a 
stranger nation, a pioneer in the great cause of 
Eastern missions ; often surrounded by danger 
and exposed to peril and suffering, but whose 
faith never faltered, and whose zeal never abated, 
even when the snows of threescore years and ten 
encircled his brow as with a crown of glory. 
" His life, a beautiful copy of that of his Re- 
deemer, spoke to the heart of the Hindoo with 
a calm, yet resistless, conviction. During the 
first years that he came among them, they lis- 

* Christian Frederic Schwartz, born at Sonnenburg, Ger- 
many, October 26, 1726 ; died at Tanjore, India, September, 
1797. 



44 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

tened coldly and curiously to his teachings. It 
was not till they were surprised and charmed 
with the integrity and purity of his character that 
the doctrines he taught met with any success. 
A corrupt, licentious, and subtile people, who 
could not discern, among all the priests and pro- 
fessors of their religion, a single example of true 
virtue, self-denial, or devotedness, they looked on 
this man, inflamed with love and zeal, seduced 
neither by the power nor the bribes of princes, 
turning from the palace to each humble home, to 
mourn, to rejoice, to pray, — they looked, and at 
last believed." Deeply imbued with his Master's 
love and sympathy, forbearance, and tender con- 
descension, — this was the true secret of his 
power. " He spoke gently and pleadingly, but 
it w T as an earnest and all-impressive gentleness, 
that sank into the soul, as the low, sweet tones 
of heart-felt music will touch the inmost depths 
of the spirit far sooner than the most artistic 
symphonies." It has been well said, that " no 
man ever succeeded greatly in a career in which 
he did not feel a delight, even to enthusiasm." 
With Schwartz, this interest and enthusiasm 
were sustained by a divine power and love, and 
never abated, even to the last failing energy of life. 
When, at a good old age, he peacefully passed 
from earth, to wider and nobler spheres of duty, 
many were the tears of true affection shed over 
his mortal remains, by those whom he had be- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 45 

friended ; — the orphan children for whom he 
had evinced a father's care and tenderness ; 
the prince whose rightful claims he had firmly 
upheld ; those of noble caste and extended in- 
fluence, as well as the poor, desolate, and for- 
saken, whom he had turned from the darkness of 
superstition, ignorance, and idolatry, to the only 
true light and life. A beautiful monument to 
his memory, wrought by the graceful genius of 
Flaxman, now adorns the Christian church at 
Tanjore, but a more enduring monument than 
one of marble is the memory of his Christ-like 
life and pure example ; while the seed of truth, 
sown by him in weakness, yet with a living faith, 
has sprung up and borne fruit, even a hundred- 
fold, — fulfilling his own words of holy trust, 
uttered when every prospect of success seemed 
dark and dreary, — " Perhaps the fruit will ap- 
pear when I am laid at rest." 

" Soldier of Christ, well done ! 
Praise be thy blest employ ; 
And -while eternal ages run, 
Rest in thy Saviour's joy ! " 

Truly has it been said, " The heart's affections 
originate and compel work. The heart wrought 
upon, and then given, an inexhaustible fountain 
is opened, out of which all spiritual action must 
proceed." 

This personal sense of indebtedness to Christ, 
this union of the soul with him, can alone ren- 



46 , BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

der one a true and effective teacher, — for this 
alone can impart life, — and life we need ; not 
dull indifference, not mere commonplaces of 
piety, not a tame mediocrity, that may seem 
well enough to the world's eye, but a life preg- 
nant with force, drawing its inspiration from the 
hidden counsels of divine wisdom, sustaining its 
strength by resting on the eternal words of prom- 
ise. Life, — not coldness, not indifference, but 
life, however manifested, however varied, if so 
be that it is true and earnest ; — even that 
secret life which is hid with Christ in God. 

Have we such a life in our schools ? — and if 
so, why are not more definite and permanent re- 
sults manifested? What is the true meaning of 
such self-consecration ? Do we not too often 
belittle its force, and seek to fashion it according 
to our own low aims and worldly standard of 
attainment ? 

First and chief of all, it implies a sense of in- 
dividual want and weakness, and a reliance on 
the free and unmerited mercy of God revealed 
through Christ ; a sense of personal union with 
the Saviour, and of indebtedness to him as the 
soul's only refuge and strength. It is more than 
an intellectual faith in the teachings of Christ, 
more than a general feeling of the worth and 
importance of Gospel truth and a vague desire 
to lead a Christian life ; more than a mere im- 
pulse of goodness and a wish to follow a certain 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 47 

fashion of benevolence. It is the giving up of 
the soul to God; it is the secret confession 
breathed in the words of lowly and penitent 
prayer ; it is the yielding up, once and for ever, 
all sense or claim of personal merit, and relying 
on the Spirit for guidance, help, and direction. 

Can a teacher speak of these divine truths, 
unless he has felt their power in his own soul ? 
unless he has experienced his own deep need of 
a Saviour, and felt the powerful influence of the 
cross ? Is there not among us too much of a 
mere intellectual knowledge of Christ, as God's 
chosen Messiah, derived from reading or educa- 
tion, without a vital heart-union with him ? Is 
there a living faith in the peculiar influences of 
the Holy Spirit, as derived through Christ, and 
dependent on him as the ever-present mediator ? 
In how many minds, indeed, is there a mere 
vague, general belief in the agency and influence 
of the Spirit, consisting of little more than the 
soothing influences often derived from the con- 
templation of some beautiful scene in nature or 
some master-work of art ; from the calmness of 
the early morning, or the often richer glories of 
the sunset hour ; dependent, perchance, upon the 
tranquil state of the nerves, or the quietness and 
success of the outward life ! And with such, 
how little depth of meaning is attached to ex- 
pressions like these, "being baptized with the 
Holy Spirit, being filled, renewed, sanctified by 
the Spirit " ! 5 



48 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

Without this sense of union with the Saviour, 
without this conscious guidance of the Spirit, 
can any soul truly guide, direct, and aid another 
soul in its heavenward course ? 

High attainments, or a mature faith, are not 
essential; but some spiritual, realizing conscious- 
ness of the true relation of the soul to God and 
to Christ is essential. 

By many teachers is Christ thus presented to 
the child ? Is he led to feel that the Saviour 
is ever present with him, sympathizing in his 
joys and trials, watching his progress, strengthen- 
ing each better endeavor, interested in every lit- 
tle conquest and every true effort ? Is he taught 
to pray through Christ for the divine blessing, 
receiving each spiritual gift through him as the 
one Mediator, looking to him as his final Judge, 
as the Reconciler of the soul to God ? In fine, 
is the image of Jesus so blended with the in- 
structions and impressions received, that it be- 
comes, even in childhood, a reality to the soul? 

We complain of and deplore the result ; but 
does not the evil lie deeper than many imagine, 
even in the child's earliest education, in those 
years when impressions are the strongest, and 
the affections the warmest and most vital, and 
when too often the young spirit is left to itself 
to gain its first religious impressions, at mere 
hazard, from any chance seed that may be sown 
in the open soil ? How often, too, even in the 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 49 

Christian household, is mere general religious 
instruction and influence imparted, and no direct 
parental efforts made to become acquainted with 
the peculiar wants, workings, trials, and question- 
ings of the child's heart ! Where there is any 
natural diffidence or reserve, especially in speak- 
ing of the deeper cravings and wants of the 
spirit, this only increases and strengthens as 
years pass on, until the hour of anxious self- 
questioning arises, when happy for the spirit if 
it find some Christian friend or teacher, in whose 
experience it can confide, and receive the help 
and guidance and sympathy it needs ! 

Oh ! were those who have the care and guid- 
ance of the young, in any degree aware of the 
deep impressions made in early childhood; of 
the difficulty of building up this living, realizing 
faith in after years, when it has not been inter- 
woven in the very fabric of the child's heart, we 
believe that many would pause ere taking upon 
themselves the sacred responsibilities of teacher 
or guide, and first ask in deep self-scrutiny, 
"Have I a living faith in Christ? Do I feel 
my personal relationship to him ? Do I so love 
the Saviour, through a consciousness of what 
he has done for my own soul, as to speak in 
sincerity to the young spirit of that divine love, 
and to strive to lead it in early life to the fold 
of the Redeemer? Have I a practical faith in 
the quickening, sustaining, sanctifying influences 



50 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

of the Holy Spirit, and is it my daily prayer 
that my whole soul may be baptized with its 
divine power ? 

A mere intellectual faith, a belief in Christ 
as a holy teacher alone, as the Messiah of the 
past, may be sufficient to some minds; but it 
serves not the soul in the hour of deep self- 
questioning, when the surging waves of con- 
science and memory rise in their gigantic force, 
and the holiness of God, and his perfect law, 
stand a vivid reality before the soul, disclosing 
all its secret and hidden depths ; it serves not 
in those silent watches of the night-season, or 
in those hours of physical prostration, when the 
darkened chamber, the hushed whisper, and the 
gentle footstep leave the soul to its own self- 
communings, and the thought arises in its 
solemn power, 

" Thou must go forth alone, my soul ! 
Thou must go forth alone, 
To other scenes, to other "worlds, 
That mortal hath not known. 
Alone must thou go forth, my soul, 
To meet thy God above ! " 

It serves not amid the daily duties and toils 
of life, the cares, anxieties, and perplexities, 
the joys and griefs of each passing hour, when 
the soul needs a more than human helper to 
sustain its composure, to preserve its rectitude, 
to quench the rising passion, to impart peace. 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 51 

Are we told that Christ came to introduce and 
establish a new system of religion, and that 
through his perfect moral teachings alone the. 
human mind is to develop and educate itself? 
Are we taught that a faithful, conscientious per- 
formance of duty is all that God or the Gospel 
requires ; and that such a life brings its own re- 
ward, here and hereafter ? Point us, we would 
reply, to any one heart that in this way alone 
has found true strength, or the deepest peace, 
and we will surrender our own views. No : a liv- 
ing Saviour does the soul need ; a sense of the 
personal sympathy, the ever-quickening influence 
of a present Christ ; to feel even now the thrill- 
ing touch of the Master's hand, and, like the dis- 
ciple of old, trustingly to repose on his breast. 

Tell us not only of the dignity of human 
nature, for self-knowledge utters its cry of in- 
ward want, failure, and destitution ; tell us not 
alone of the innate capacities of the soul and 
its power of self-development, for vain mockeries 
are they to the soul in its hours of deepest need ; 
tell us not of the goodness of God as revealed in 
the beautiful harmony of the outward universe 
alone, as if this were an all-sufficient anchor to 
the spirit ; for there are moments when the cloud 
within casts its dark shadow over the fairest 
scenes and the brightest skies, and faint and 
uncertain is nature's response to the earnest 
questionings of the spirit. 
5* 



52 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

There are periods in the lives of all when ab- 
stract truths lose their power. In those seasons 
when the waves and billows of adversity sweep 
over the soul, when all outward supports fail, and 
even the tenderest human sympathy seems cold 
and vain to the desolate and bleeding heart ; 
when sudden and desolating grief bows the spirit 
in bitter anguish, and the joy of peaceful days 
is swept away in a moment, — the soul turns 
not to arguments, nor to intellectual truths, nor 
to any mere ivords of revelation, for such are 
then all too cold and lifeless. It turns to Christ: 
it seeks his consoling presence ; the tender sym- 
pathy that wept with the mourning sisters at the 
grave of Lazarus, and uttered those soothing 
words of peace to the trembling and sorrowing 
disciples, " Let not your heart be troubled ; my 
peace I give unto you." It follows him to the 
garden-shades, and learns from that bitter agony 
of the love made perfect through suffering ; and 
as it bends at the foot of the cross, and there 
reads the lesson of sublime self-renunciation, and 
of love, stronger than death, it feels and believes, 
that, even though the furnace be seven times 
heated, One is ever with it who will bring it 
forth unharmed. It knows that the ministering 
angels of God's love are near, and it believes and 
trusts ; for He who dwells in the bosom of the 
Father is with it, giving the needed strength, and 
abiding with it as the ever-present Comforter. 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 53 

No : abstract truths, moral formulas, however 
pure and sublime, have little power to touch the 
heart, to kindle heavenly aspirations, to awak- 
en the dormant sensibilities. It was something 
far more and deeper than these that has led the 
noble army of apostles, martyrs, and mission- 
aries to yield up all for Christ. It was more than 
these that induced Martyn, in the vigor of open- 
ing manhood, to give up home, and friends, and 
country, to relinquish the rich emoluments of 
talent and industry, to lay down his life on the 
burning plains of the East, amid a strange and 
heathen nation, — an early and a noble sacrifice. 
It was more than cold abstractions that sus- 
tained the tender love and untiring zeal of Brai- 
nerd and Eliot, as they proclaimed the words of 
Gospel truth amid the deep wilds of American 
forests ; that led the gentle Mrs. Boardman to 
seek the shores of India, leaving all that woman's 
heart holds so dear, and nobly and undauntedly 
to meet the privations and toils of years of suffer- 
ing, sustained by a power not her own ; that led 
Oberlin to make his home amid the snow- 
crowned Alps, and Howard to close his faithful 
years, laboring to alleviate the horrors of dun- 
geons and prisons. It was no formal utterance 
of abstract truths, or of an intellectual faith 
alone, that gathered crowds to hear the loving 
w T ords of Cheverus, that breathed in the ten- 
der, winning accents of Fenelon, that moved 



54 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

and swayed the breathless multitude as they 
listened to the soul-stirring words of Edwards, 
or to the moving eloquence of "Whitefield and 
Wesley. 

It was no cold and formal truths that led the 
little band of Moravian missionaries to the bleak 
and barren shores of Greenland, that enabled 
them to labor amid hardships and discourage- 
ments such as would have wholly deterred hearts 
less earnest and trusting, and that enabled them to 
speak with such persuasive fervor and zeal that 
the hearts of the ignorant and degraded were 
melted and touched, as they proclaimed the 
divine message of pardon and salvation. 

No : they spoke of Christ. They pointed to 
that central figure, the embodiment of all truth 
and power, and love and wisdom, and bade the 
sinful, the ignorant, and the dying turn to him 
as their only refuge and support. They felt his 
presence and his love in their own souls, and 
so their words were redolent with power, and 
their tongues kindled as with the fire of inspira- 
tion. 

Teach, then, the child of Christ the Saviour, 
and of the Father of perfect holiness and love, 
manifested in and through him. Let soul speak 
to soul ; and though the teacher may possess no 
peculiar talent, no high attainments, this inward 
power and principle will be felt. Let his daily 
and fervent prayer be, to be brought into a con- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 55 

scious union with his divine Master, to abide in 
him, as the branch in the vine, and to feel that 
all his life is derived from the Father through 
him. 

Such teachers are needed in our schools, — souls 
consecrated to Christ, feeling that the Gospel is 
addressed to them individually, and that they 
have a solemn responsibility in proclaiming its 
words of divine truth. 

A consciousness of imperfection and sin will 
not deter them from the work, for they will feel 
that He who spake the words of pardon and of 
peace to the weeping woman that bathed his 
feet in tears of humble penitence, will not reject 
any soul that clings to him in tender love, and 
seeks to follow him in daily duty. Of the 
humbled Publican, not of the self-complacent 
Pharisee, was it said, that " he went down to 
his house justified." 

Let us have this life of Christ in our schools, 
this inward, spiritual love of the Saviour, filling 
the hearts of the teachers, and life will spring 
from barrenness, and verdure and bloom will 
cover every waste and desert place, and the 
promise of the Father will come upon each 
waiting soul, through his Christ, — even the bap- 
tism of the Holy Spirit. 



56 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 



CHAPTER V. 



QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. INTEREST 

AND PERSEVERANCE IN THE WORK, AND A TRUE 
LOVE OF SOULS. 



" Take heed unto thyself. .... Study to show thyself approved 
unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly divid- 
ing the word of truth And the servant of the Lord must not 

strive ; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient." 



" I intend to take a class in your Sabbath 
school," said a young lady to a friend who for 
several years had been engaged as teacher ; " and 
I want your assistance in engaging some pupils, 
for I know of but one at present whom I can 
persuade to come." The required promise was 
readily given, and in the course of another week 
the young lady was informed that three little 
children were ready to enter the school for the 
first time, taken from homes of poverty and ig- 
norance, having enjoyed no religious instruction, 
and especially needing the kind and simple les- 
sons of love and of truth that she might be able 
to impart. " O I do not want such a class as 
that," was the quick rejoinder ; " I had rather 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 57 

wait till I can find some children more inviting 
to teach ; I never could do anything with such 
as those, I am sure, they are so uninteresting." 
And so the golden opportunity was lost,, and 
another and a truer disciple of her Master was 
found, to unseal the fountains of spiritual truth 
to those young and thirsting souls, one to whom 
it shall be said hereafter, " Inasmuch as ye did it 
unto one of the least of these, ye did it unto me." 

Could such a spirit as was here exhibited have 
been calculated to exert a beneficial influence 
over the young and inexperienced ? Was there 
any true self-consecration to the Master's ser- 
vice ? any realizing sense of the worth of the 
soul, and of the Father's love for the youngest 
and the feeblest spirit? Are there no such teach- 
ers now in any of our schools ? Is there not 
among us too much of the spirit of ease and self- 
indulgence, and too little of the true missionary 
spirit of self-renunciation, of that deep love of 
our work which would lead us to count all things 
as naught, so that we might win souls to Christ ? 

If the teacher enter upon his office simply as 
a matter of course, because he is anxious to fol- 
low others, or merely to pass a Sabbath hour 
agreeably among five or six well-behaved, well- 
dressed children, making little or no preparation 
for his duties beforehand, and deeming those du- 
ties fulfilled when the appointed lesson is well 
recited, though but a portion of the time allotted 



58 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

to such recitations be thus occupied, what ought 
to be expected ? what is the necessary and real 
result ? As we sow, so shall we reap. Indiffer- 
ence, or a superficial goodness, or a faith merely 
founded upon the intellect, and having no deep, 
abiding root in the soul, must be the natural 
consequence of such teaching. Where a teach- 
er undertakes his responsible office, virtually ex- 
pressing, in so doing, his faith in Christ as his 
own guide and example, and his desire so to fol- 
low his life of benevolence and self-sacrifice as 
to be the means of leading young hearts to 
choose him as their only teacher and guide, of 
bringing back the lost and wandering to look to 
him as their only sufficient Saviour and Redeem- 
er, and yet is unwilling to take under his charge 
any but the well-dressed children of the more 
favored classes among us, is there not some vi- 
tal defect in his spirit, which, if he has any true 
self-knowledge, ought to deter him from taking 
such an office at all ? Can he possess that love 
of souls which alone can render his teaching 
effective ? 

We well know the discouragements attending 
the charge of a class of the more ignorant and 
neglected children among us ; but we know, too, 
the happiness and the good resulting from such 
intercourse ; and we cannot but feel, that in 
most instances where no good has been effected, 
the want of success is to be attributed in part to 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 59 

the teacher, as well as to adverse home influences. 
We have known instances where a teacher has 
had children for months under his care, who yet 
has never seen them in their own homes ; never 
expressed any interest in the long sickness of a 
parent, brother, or sister ; never testified that in 
any way they were associated with other than 
the Sabbath hours. We have known other teach- 
ers, who have seen the neglect, undertake the 
offices of Christian charity to such children, in 
addition to those under their immediate care; 
speaking the kindly word of sympathy at home, 
and creating ties of spiritual love and gratitude, 
which the nominal teacher in vain could expect 
to form. When the former have complained of 
coldness or indifference, or want of success, and 
have wondered how others possessed the "tact" 
of interesting such ignorant and uneducated 
minds, we have sometimes thought that the true 
cause was sought everywhere but within. Are 
the discouragements attending the instruction of 
such children more or greater than must be en- 
countered by every true teacher in the charge of 
those who come from mere worldly and fashion- 
able homes, where the voice of prayer is seldom 
or never heard, and the Bible is regarded as only 
a book for Sundays, or its gilded covers as a 
suitable ornament for the centre-table ? Has not 
the teacher even a more difficult work here to 
perform in overcoming frivolity and indifference, 
6 



60 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

and in breaking through the hard crust of self- 
satisfied complacency and self-righteousness ? If 
the child or youth sees the teacher, who speaks 
to him in the Sabbath hours of the duties of 
self-denial and self-consecration, of the supreme 
importance of eternal realities^ and of the com- 
parative worthlessness and insignificance of the 
merely external and outward, absorbed during 
the week in every passing pleasure, — devoted 
to dress and fashion and gain, fond of flattery 
and amusement, making no systematic or ear- 
nest efforts for self-improvement or the good of 
others, — what wonder that he regards the in- 
structions of the Seventh day as of little worth 
or importance ! No : the work is regarded as far 
too easy a one, and so, too often, those of little 
spiritual energy, vital religious power, or practi- 
cal force of character, enter into the labor, ex- 
pecting to reap at once an abundant harvest, and 
are disappointed because they only reap as they 
have sown. The eye of the child is quick and 
ready to discern ; and unless there be in the 
teacher a true and heart-felt love, and a spirit of 
patient, calm perseverance in his work, in vain 
will it be to address to the pupil mere words of 
goodness ; he will see through the shallow arti- 
fice, and his own languid interest will but reflect 
the teacher's spirit. 

A truer self-consecration and a more genuine 
vital energy are needed among us. Something of 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 61 

that resolute zeal by which Chalmers effected so 
much amid the crowded streets and narrow lanes 
of Glasgow, in bringing the neglected children of 
want and ignorance under the influence of well- 
regulated schools and faithful teachers, and 
which led him to say, in deep earnestness, to 
those engaged w T ith him in the same noble work, 
" Until men go forth among our heathen at 
home with the same zeal and enthusiasm which 
are expected of missionaries who go abroad, 
there will be little true knowledge of religion 
throughout the mass of our city families, or a 
reclaiming of them from those sad habits of alien- 
ation from God and from goodness into which 
the vast majority of them have fallen." 

We want, not only those who are ready to 
labor beneath sunny skies and in a serene atmos- 
phere, where a quiet, simple routine is to be 
weekly passed through, and no difficulties en- 
countered, no opposition experienced ; but we 
need spirits made strong through endurance, res- 
olute by action, stringent by earnest exercise. 
In this cause, if in any, we need the energy and 
zeal manifested in other departments of duty, 
amid the routine of business, the competition for 
distinction, the struggle for literary eminence and 
fame. Let the teacher go to his duties with 
heart and mind, energy and strength. Listless- 
ness and indifference are the sure forerunners of 
spiritual death. 



62 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

Let him be awake to his work. Spiritual in- 
dolence is a most subtle enemy, and one more 
to be feared by every true-hearted Christian than 
any other. Where there is a Christ-like, living 
spirit, " it will never suffer the individual to sit 
idly with folded hands, looking lazily out on the 
white fields of harvest, where no reaper's sickle 
rings against the wheat; but it will send him 
forth to work, nerved with an impulse that no 
disappointment can palsy, no misgivings keep 
back." Such an energy, not fitful and spasmodic, 
but having its seat in the inmost soul, cannot but 
be effectual and life-giving. 

In the Christian teacher, one of its first and 
most essential fruits will manifest itself by a 
faithful punctuality in all the duties of his office. 
His seat will not be found vacant every time that 
the weather is a little unpropitious, or any little 
personal effort is needed for him to be present at 
the appointed hour ; but he will regard it as an 
essential duty to the whole school, no less than 
to his individual class, to be at his post regularly 
and punctually, unless sickness or absolute ne- 
cessity detains him from his duties. 

Nothing can be more injurious to the discipline 
and regularity of a school, than to have the bane- 
ful example of teachers who are inconstant in 
their attendance, or who, by a late and hurried 
entrance, interrupt the opening exercises of the 
school. Order, regularity, and method are essen- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 63 

tial to every well-arranged and well-governed 
school, and these ends cannot be secured without 
the co-operation of the individual teacher. At 
the cost of whatever personal effort, let him feel 
that there is an absolute obligation laid upon 
him so to act ; for as regularly and punctually 
should he be at his post as the teacher of any of 
our secular schools. 

If he is obliged to be absent, or to suspend his 
duties for a season, let him give due notice 
to the superintendent, and make such arrange- 
ments as may be possible to have his place sup- 
plied. Nothing is more discouraging to a class, 
and more surely quenches at once all ardor and 
interest in their pursuits, than to go Sunday after 
Sunday, and find their teacher absent ; or if they 
are in season, to have him enter, when the open- 
ing exercises have been performed, or the school 
is half over. Every teacher should be in his 
place before the opening of the school, and be 
ready in a calm, quiet, and collected spirit, to 
meet his pupils. 

A faithful and eminently successful teacher, 
now passed from earth, always made it his 
practice to be in his seat some minutes before 
his pupils, in order to find time to collect 
his thoughts, to offer renewedly the secret 
prayer for guidance and a special blessing on 
his instructions, and to realize more fully his 
Master's presence and sympathy in his imme- 
6* 



64 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

diate labors. Might not such a practice be 
beneficial to every teacher ? and still more, 
would not its spirit react with vital power upon 
every pupil ? 

If these duties are undertaken in the spirit of 
Christ, with a sincere desire to be a minister of 
good to other souls, there must also exist in the 
teacher's heart the Saviour's spirit of self-renun- 
ciation, of patient love and sympathy. To speak 
to the heart of the child, we must understand 
something of its wants and desires, its joys and 
griefs, its hopes and fears. We must feel with 
him, make his individual character a close study, 
and regard nothing as little that contributes to 
his happiness, or that ever brings a shadow 
over his youthful brow. What seem little 
things to us, trials and joys too trivial to men- 
tion, are great to him ; and it is in and through 
these daily and seemingly trivial events that 
he is to be led to a true self-conquest, and a 
trusting, child-like faith. 

Tell him not in abstract terms of love and 
duty and immortality ; but touch those warm 
and glowing affections, too often repressed by 
ignorance, or sin, or coldness ; lead him to con- 
fide in you as a loving, sympathizing friend, to 
whom he may freely trust his troubles and his 
joys, — then bring before him that Holy One, 
who took the little children in his arms and 
blessed them, who rolled back the shadow of 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 65 

death from the brow of the young Jewish 
maiden, and who himself became the child of 
sorrow and of suffering, that for evermore its 
power might be transfigured to human hearts.- 

Tell him of the kind and good Father who 
watches over him, and loves him, and cares for 
him infinitely more than the best of earthly 
parents ; associate the thought of God with all 
that is glad and beautiful in life ; teach him to 
look above for a blessing, with the brightness of 
each opening morning, and to seek the shelter of 
the same watchful care and love, as the evening 
shades gather around his home. 

Let no coldness, no sternness, no unsympa- 
thizing word or look repress the childish utter- 
ance of love, or chill the warm glow of his 
young affections. Let him not feel that the 
religion of Jesus has no part in the joys of 
childhood, or the gladness of opening youth, but 
through a cheerful faith, a ready sympathy, and 
a glad participation in all that contributes to 
his innocent amusement or true improvement, 
let him learn the reality and the joy of a true 
religious faith and hope. 

Some there are well fitted for their vocation 
in all but this, — they do not enter into the 
child's feelings, nor learn through a gentle sym- 
pathy the access to his heart. It is like an un- 
known region to them. " Father," said a bright, 
intelligent boy of nine years, as the hour for 



66 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

school arrived ; " Father, if you will let me be 
in Mr. B.'s class, I should like to go ; but if not, 
I do not want to attend school any longer, for I 
do n't think my teacher cares anything about 
me. He hears and explains my lessons, it is 
true, but I know he do n't love me." And yet 
there was no more conscientious and intelligent 
teacher in the school than the one referred to ; 
but he had studied truth too much in reference 
to the intellect only, and realized not the essen- 
tial importance of studying even more the child's 
heart, and of learning how to enter into his 
active, inquisitive mind. 

The heart must breathe in the words and man- 
ner. Teach the child in every possible way, by 
every little attention, every word of encourage- 
ment or admonition, that yours is a deep and 
a true interest, and your instructions wall not be 
in vain. Expect not to mark the same interest, 
or to witness the same results in all, but study 
each individual character, and seek to bring out 
the peculiar excellencies of each ; to learn their 
different tastes, habits, and feelings. Show that 
you appreciate their least endeavors ; for a word 
of encouragement will often do far more than 
reproof. If the child be indolent and careless, 
seek worthy stimulants to rouse him to exertion ; 
if cold and indifferent, strive to quicken his dor- 
mant affections ; if irritable and petulant, evince 
always a quiet and firm manner, and teach him 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 67 

by your own gentle and loving spirit the beauty 
of a Christ-like temper. Never reprove in harsh- 
ness, or before others, wounding the delicate sen- 
sitiveness of the child's heart. Talk not of his 
peculiar faults before the whole class, but speak 
to him alone or in private, and expose not his 
susceptible feelings to the laugh or gaze of 
others. Lead him to feel that you have confi- 
dence in his power of improvement, and so 
awaken in him a true self-reliance ; for constant 
fault-finding is always and everywhere depress- 
ing. Never reprove or admonish when there is 
the least degree of anger or impatience in your 
own soul. A reproof loses all its moral majesty 
and its due effect when the tongue teaches one 
thing, and the manner, voice, and expression of 
countenance wholly another. 

Insist on order and obedience in your class 
from the very first, for nothing can be accom- 
plished without these. Be firm, dignified, and reso- 
lute, and at the same time gentle and affectionate. 

Let not any pupil receive a partial attention. 
Turn not to the bright, intelligent, and thought- 
ful, as if they were to receive exclusive care ; but 
remember, that beneath the coarse garb, uninter- 
esting exterior, and often repulsive bearing of 
the child of ignorance and want, there are the 
germs of a life as true and noble as in the more 
favored child of affluence and of joy. Nay : 
give a double attention to such, — - show them a 



68 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

deeper love and a more tender sympathy, for 
they need it more. It may, indeed, be more 
pleasant to train the delicate and cultivated 
plant, and watch its beautiful unfolding ; but 
the rough and unsightly shrub will often yield 
the richest and most abundant fruit, — and " by 
their fruits ye shall know them." 

May it not be, that your love, your simple 
words of kindness, alone stand between the child 
and a cold, unsympathizing world? Home he 
may know only as a nightly shelter, — perchance 
not even that ; and a parent's name brings up no 
endearing thought, recalls no soothing, gentle 
voice of love. You may imagine your endeav- 
ors all fruitless and void ; but in after years it 
may be that your image wall blend with those 
loving words, " Our Father," and he will bless 
God for one who shed a single beam of light 
upon his benighted and darkened childhood. 
Would not such a consciousness be an ample 
reward for every sacrifice and discouragement ? 

Stand, for once, beside the dying bed of such 
a child ; all is cheerless in the cold and desolate 
room ; no mothers gentle voice speaks of the 
good Shepherd's care, or soothes the weary 
spirit, as it passes through the dark valley; no 
cheering words of faith and hope point the de- 
parting soul to the glad, bright home above ; but 
noisy words and harsh discords fall on the ear, 
with no loving hand to bathe the aching brow 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 69 

or soothe the weary limbs. But amid all the 
noisy strife and all the outward cheerlessness, 
see how the little hand clasps the simple hymn- 
book given her by her teacher one glad summer's 
morning, and which brought so bright a smile 
over the careworn face, as she was told that it 
was " her own " ; listen to the half-murmured 
words of the last Sabbath lesson, — 

" ' Let little children come to me,' 
The blessed Saviour said " ; 

watch the bright smile that steals over the pallid 
face, and beams in heavenly beauty amid such 
a scene, as if the Saviour were indeed visibly 
present to that young spirit, waiting to receive it 
to his arms of love ; and then turn away, and ask, 
if you can, " Is it a light thing to be a teacher to 
such as these ? " 

Not many months since, a young man in a 
sailor's garb entered the store of a merchant in 

the city of P . On being asked what he 

wished for, as he carelessly leaned over the 
counter, he looked steadily into the merchant's 
face, and in a trembling voice exclaimed, " Do 

you not know William H , your old pupil ? " 

Well might he ask the question, for his whole 
exterior was not more changed than the expres- 
sion of his countenance, once cold, careless, and 
indifferent, now full of life and animation, and 
speaking of a conscience no longer silenced and 
disobeyed. 



70 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

In relating to his friend his personal adven- 
tures as a sailor, during the previous five years, 
he made the following touching remarks : — 

" I well know the trouble I gave you, when in 
your class at Sunday school ; how utterly heed- 
less I was of all your instructions, and how in 
every way I tried to thwart your endeavors. One 

Sunday, in company with H , I behaved even 

worse than usual, and you told me that you 
should be obliged to dismiss me from the schoo], 
unless I would promise to behave better. You 
talked seriously and very earnestly to me. I felt 
it all, but was too proud to show it, and I deter- 
mined to brave it out, though in my heart I knew 
you were my best friend. 

" However, the next week, being somewhat 
ashamed and weary of my vagrant kind of life, 
and dreading too, more than all, my mother's 
quiet reproof, I engaged as a sailor on board the 
merchant ship ; Columbus.' 

" The next Sunday morning, I thought I would 
just go into school once more, as I really felt a 
little homesick at the thought of going to sea 
for the first time, to be absent many months. 
The opening hymn was being sung, as I noisily 
entered. I took my seat, but cared, as usual, 
little for the lessons. Had you spoken coldly or 
harshly, it would have been all over with me. 
But when you took my hand so kindly, and 
spoke so earnestly, pleading with me to leave off 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 71 

my bad habits, I felt more ashamed, more self- 
convicted, than ever before. I said nothing; 
but when you bade me < good by,' using no re- 
proachful words, and the next morning went all 
the way to the wharf to see me safe on board 
the vessel, and placed this very Bible in my 
hands, I could no longer resist your patient kind- 
ness. Often and often did your words come 
back to me amid the busy scenes of the day, or 
when watching alone by night on the cold deck, 
and I then solemnly determined, God helping 
me, to lead a better life. 

" Months and years have passed, but you have 
never been forgotten in my daily prayers ; and I 
determined, if ever I reached this port again, to 
come and thank you for your love and kind- 
ness ; — for," he added in a faltering voice, " to 
you, under God, do I owe all that I now am 
and all that I hope for hereafter. Had you 
been unsympathizing or discouraged, who knows 
where I might now have been ? " 

At the same time, and in the same school, 
was a girl, quick and bright of intellect, and at- 
tractive in personal appearance, but wild, careless, 
and irreverent in disposition, and devoted chiefly 
to dress, fashion, and every passing amusement. 
Caring, as she did, little for application in any 
pursuit, and disregarding home instructions, her 
teacher sought in vain to impress her with the 
importance of religious truths and duties, or with 
the solemn realities of a life to come. 
7 



72 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

Month after month she attended the school, 
and often her teacher was orr the point of giving 
up what seemed a hopeless task, so little appar- 
ent influence did she exert over her. At length 
she removed to another city. Years passed on. 
Those who once were pupils had taken the 
places of teachers in the school, and still its use- 
fulness was sustained. Nothing had been heard 

of Caroline B , until, one Sabbath morning, 

a letter was handed to her old teacher, directed 
in a well-known hand. After giving an account 
of her new and pleasant home in the far West, 
and of the little family, gathered around her, in 
touching terms she referred to the old school- 
room at , and of the many associations 

gathered around that spot. " Often and often 
have I thought of your kindness and of your in- 
structions, and thanked God that you wearied 
not in what must have seemed such fruitless 
labors. I know I ridiculed and spurned them. 
But when laid for months on the bed of sick- 
ness, unable even to read, your gentle voice and 
those Sabbath lessons came back to me as fresh- 
ly and as vividly as but yesterday. Your plead- 
ing and earnest words echoed and re-echoed 
through my soul, and when life and health slow- 
ly returned, I arose from my bed another and a 
different being. Life has become transfigured to 
me. The future is no longer a dream, nor eter- 
nity and retribution mere names. Gladly would 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 73 

I pour forth my heart-felt thanks to you, but 
words are inadequate. In another world, next 
to the Saviour shall I thank you for your love 
to me, when I rendered no return." 

Do not such incidents as these — and easily 
could they be multiplied — speak in earnest tones 
to every teacher of the duty of long-suffering pa- 
tience, and a steady, hearty perseverance in the 
work ? Shall we be so quick and ready to see 
the faults and be discouraged by the heedless- 
ness of the little child, or the ardent, impetuous 
youth, when standing in such daily need our- 
selves of the Divine forbearance and forgiveness ? 
Where should we be, were the Master as ready 
to mark our follies and sins, as we are to com- 
plain of those who often hear no words of re- 
ligious instruction, save from our lips ? 

Let the teacher be diligent, faithful, and true, 
but never let him be discouraged in witnessing 
no immediate results of his labors. " First the 
blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the 
ear." 

Let him faithfully give line upon line, precept 
upon precept, never wearying of repeating the 
same explanations, patiently meeting the various 
wants of his pupils, and in trusting faith break- 
ing to them the bread of life. Let him never 
give way to any feelings of impatience or irrita- 
bility, or evince, by a careless, hurried manner, 
that he is weary of his work ; but let him ever 



74 



BEGINNING AND GROWTH 



remember Him who is long-suffering and kind, 
even to the unthankful and the evil, and never 
feel discouraged, so Ions: as he is conscious of 
having spoken and acted with the sincere pur- 
pose of following his divine Master. 

■• Speak gently to the erring ones, 
They must have toiled in vain ; 
Perchance unkindness made them so : 
0, vrin them back again ! 

" Speak gently, — ''tis a little thing 
Dropped in the heart's deep vrell ; 
Tke good, the joy. that it may bring 
Eternity shall tell.'' 

Patience and perseverance, learned from a holy 
communion with the Saviour's life and spirit, 
inwrought into the secret recesses of the soul, 
what qualifications more essential to the religious 
teacher ! Patience towards others, patience with 
one's own heart, sustained by the steadfast, on- 
ward endeavor, and the quiet waiting upon 
God ; a fixed and definite aim, upheld by a 
strong, resolute, and determined perseverance to 
go right onward, though no visible, immediate 
results are realized, — such a spirit does every 
teacher need. 

To every one trulv and heartily engaged in 
the work is it said, with a deep and abiding 
emphasis, ; - Be not weary in well-doing " ; for 
the promise is sure and for ever, ;; In due sea- 
son ye shall reap, if ye faint not." 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 75 



CHAPTER VI. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. CHRISTIAN 

FAITH AND HOPEFULNESS. 



" help us, through the prayer of faith, 
More firmly to believe ; 
For still the more the servant hath, 
The more shall he receive." 



" If ye have faith as a grain of mustard-seed," 
said our Saviour to his disciples, as, awe-struck 
and astonished, they witnessed the display of his 
miraculous power, " ye shall say unto this moun- 
tain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall 
remove ; and nothing shall be impossible to you." 
In another place, as if to unfold to them yet 
more fully the profound and seemingly hidden 
mystery of his words, he adds, " What things 
soever ye desire when ye pray, believe that ye 
receive them, and ye shall have them." 

Are not these words equally applicable to the 

Christian teacher of the present day as to those 

first disciples ? However widely different in its 

peculiar circumstances and mere outward envi- 

7* 



76 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

ronments, is there not as deep a need now in the 
Church of Christ of this true, abiding faith, as 
in those earlier times, when trial and persecution 
were the certain results of a frank and honest 
avowal of the divine claims of the Redeemer ? 

Is not this faith greatly wanting among us ? 
Have we not, to a great degree, lost a simple 
and practical trust in the power and efficacy of 
prayer, the one great means of sustaining a true 
and living faith ? Believing, it may be, intellec- 
tually, in the promise of divine help and guid- 
ance, is there not among many a half-acknowl- 
edged feeling that prayer is only an act of self- 
excitation, a requisite form of the acknowledg- 
ment of the divine goodness and support, but 
bringing to the soul no peculiar benefits, no 
special blessing from the fount of divine truth 
and love ? Is there not a too prevalent feeling 
of the necessary reliance upon God as the author 
of eternal law and order, as a Being unchange- 
able in his government, and for ever fixed in his 
wise and inscrutable decrees, without that rever- 
ential fear, that personal confidence, that holy 
trust, that sees in all a Father's hand, that be- 
lieves in his direct, immediate communion with 
every soul, listening to the faintest prayer of the 
sincere and child-like spirit, and adapting every 
blessing, every trial, every event to the ultimate 
good of the individual soul, — yearning over it 
with a Father's tenderness, and satisfying its 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 77 

faintest desires from his own overflowing fulness 
and love ? 

The sublimest of the prophets, in the midst of 
his warnings and entreaties to the chosen people 
of Jehovah, speaks of the Holy One as "being 
afflicted in all the afflictions of his people." And 
will not such a view of the divine character, so 
tender, so compassionate, so congenial to the in- 
dividual consciousness, alone prompt the sincere 
and heart-felt prayer, the earnest supplication for 
a faith like that which He revealed who ever 
dwelt in the bosom of the Father ? 

Is not such a faith, faint it may be at first, 
and often doubting and hesitating, but growing 
with the soul's growth, and daily increasing with 
its strength, is not such a faith an essential quali- 
fication for the teacher of religious truth ? 

Were we asked, indeed, to point out the 
quality which, more than any other, is needed 
to render one an effective and successful teacher 
of the young, we should reply at once and em- 
phatically, Faith, — not a mere belief in the Gos- 
pel as a divine revelation, but a heart conscious 
of its power, and firmly relying on the Saviour's 
word of promise, " Whatsoever ye shall ask, be- 
lieving, ye shall receive." 

However humble, however diffident of his 
own strength, however young and inexperienced, 
if this principle dwell in his soul, the teacher 
will not hesitate to go right onward in duty, to 



78 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

meet the claims of others, however weighty, 
to speak the direct words of truth, or to make 
the urgent personal appeal, however difficult it 
may sometimes seem ; for he will feel that not 
in his own strength does he stand, and that he is 
but the minister of One whose word of eternal 
truth remains sure and for ever : " My strength 
shall be made perfect in thy weakness." 

To every such teacher we would say, first of 
all, cherish a just and true faith in those ivhom 
you teach. Going from week to week to your 
little class, accustomed to the same routine, meet- 
ing the same familiar faces, often repulsed by the 
cold word, the indifferent spirit, or the careless 
manner, witnessing no immediate fruits of your 
labors, called on again and again to repeat the 
same simple explanations, and often seeking, ap- 
parently in vain, to fix the wandering attention, 
you need to cherish a deep, abiding, and real- 
izing sense of the unspeakable worth and value 
of every soul ; to realize that you are speaking, 
not to the mere transient beings of a summer's 
day, but to immortal spirits, — spirits that cannot 
die ; spirits which the Eternal Father created and 
loves, and for which Christ lived and died ; souls, 
one moment of whose conscious existence infolds 
greater mysteries than the most profound philos- 
ophy can disclose ; capable of rising upwards to 
heights of glory, purity, and holiness, now faintly 
imagined even in its highest and boldest aspira- 



OP THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 79 

tions, or of sinking into that spiritual darkness 
and death which He, who well knew the strength 
and the weakness, the good and the evil, in each 
human soul, so fearfully and so solemnly imaged 
as the region of outer darkness, " where the 
worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched." 

Study your own soul. Look searchingly and 
carefully within. Learn its powers and capaci- 
ties of progress and advancement, its powers of 
thought and aspiration and growing holiness, 
its capacities of love and sympathy and self- 
sacrifice, and of heavenly faith and communion ; 
read within, in every line and fibre of your intel- 
lectual and moral being, the hand of the Al- 
mighty Creator, for ever pointing out your true 
relationship to him, in a holy, child-like depend- 
ence, and teaching you to turn away from all 
self-reliance and self-worship to Him who dis- 
cerneth the very thoughts afar off, without whose 
intimate, constant presence in the soul not even 
thought could perform its simplest functions or 
the spirit wing one earnest aspiration upward. 
Learn, from close self-examination, from a true 
and just self-knowledge, springing from the 
depths of lowly prayer, and holy communion, 
and a sense of inward want and deficiency; 
learn, too, the reality of the soul's sinfulness, of 
its alienation from God, of the perversion of its 
noble powers, and the waste of its glorious in- 
heritance ; learn that in itself it is weak and 



80 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

helpless and sinful, and that only through the 
divine renewal can it be brought into its true 
relationship with the Unseen, — that only through 
its second and true birth into the spiritual life 
can it know aught of the blessedness of recon- 
ciliation and pardon, and of oneness with God 
through Christ. 

Look earnestly and truly within ; and as the. 
great facts of your moral being become distinctly 
imaged to your soul, as they become eternal re- 
alities to you, far more than the mere transient 
events and fading glitter of the outward world, 
as you contemplate the soul's immortal destiny, 
and the momentous results that flow from its 
present solemn choice between the great oppos- 
ing forces that now divide the moral universe, 
you will feel more and more that in every hu- 
man spirit there are infolded powers and capaci- 
ties, heights and depths of being, far transcend- 
ing in grandeur and solemn interest a whole uni- 
verse of material worlds. As this consciousness 
becomes indelibly impressed on your soul, you 
will meet your pupils from week to week, no 
longer in mere outward form, but with the abid- 
ing conviction that you are holding communion 
with immortal souls ; with an assured faith that 
in every child, however ignorant, however unin- 
teresting to the common observer, however care- 
less or indifferent, there dwells a living spirit, — 
a spirit that shall still exist when suns and worlds 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 81 

and countless systems shall have passed from 
being. 

Could every teacher come to his class from 
Sabbath to Sabbath, "penetrated with a living 
conviction of the grandeur, the infinitude, the 
preciousness of the soul of every pupil ; could he 
escape from the benumbing influences of habit, 
and the constant tendency of details to fritter 
away reverence and tame wonder down ; could 
he keep his realizing perception of what a soul is 
as vivid as if the revelation of it were made each 
instant afresh to his own mind, — it is safe to 
say, not merely that harvests, richer than his 
boldest hope dared dream of, would crown his 
toil, — an unprecedented intensity touching his 
Christ-like lips with inspiration, and clothing 
every word with wings of fire, — but also that a 
zeal for the task would seize on his own heart, 
sending him to it with an impulse that he could 
not keep back, and would make his every mes- 
sage like a chapter from the gospel of life." 

Have faith, we repeat,, in those rvhom you teach. 
Cherish a trusting confidence in the child. Be- 
lieve that your fervent prayers of intercession in 
his behalf will assuredly be answered, though it 
may be in a way and at a time now unknown 
to you. Have faith, that, if under God you can 
awaken or strengthen in that young soul a desire 
and a longing for its heavenly inheritance, One, 
to whom that spirit's life is infinitely precious, 



82 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

will ever work with and in him both to will and 
to do, of his good pleasure. 

Have faith in what you teach ; for it is the 
eternal truth of God ; — not mere facts of human 
wisdom, not the traditions of human authority, 
not the perplexing theories of philosophers, not 
the vain speculations of the theorist, or the mere- 
ly fanciful dreams of the spiritualist, are you 
called on to weigh, discuss, and teach ; but those 
simple, solemn, and sublime truths, which consti- 
tute the very essence and attributes of the Eter- 
nal, which God has written in part on the soul 
itself, and which he has yet more clearly revealed 
through the life and mission of his Son. 

Never feel that it is your truth that you are 
imparting, for such teaching may well prove vain. 
Speak in the Master's name and spirit, with faith 
that his teachings received into the soul can re- 
move even mountains of sin and evil. Believe 
in his divine power. Cherish the full assurance 
that He who at a single touch could send the 
thrill of life through the palsied limb, and whose 
word alone poured light upon eyes long quenched 
in gloom and darkness, can equally awaken the 
soul from its lethargic slumber of indifference 
and sin, and shed celestial light over its darkened 
being. 

Measure not the divine power by your own 
weakness and helplessness; distrust not the di- 
vine resources. Think not, that, because you 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 83 

witness no present fruits, the seed of truth con- 
tains no germ of a living life. 

" God moves in a mysterious way 
His wonders to perform " ; 

and often may verdure and bloom and gladness 
spring forth in souls which to human sight 
seemed all waste, barren, and unfruitful. 

Rest your confidence firmly and exclusively 
on the word of God, and accept his promises as 
addressed to you personally. By faith go forth 
and labor, and through faith endure, as seeing 
Him who is invisible ; relying not on what you 
can accomplish or perform, but only on what 
God has promised to do in and through you. 

So cherish a true and just, though humble, 
faith in your power to teach. There is such a 
thing as a vain self-distrust, and a false humility, 
based, not on a Christ-like lowliness of spirit, 
but on a lack of confidence in God, and a ques- 
tioning of the divine omnipotence. It hesitates 
to speak and act, not so much from conscious 
weakness and ignorance as from an unwilling- 
ness to trust in the divine promise, to give itself 
wholly up to the guidance of the Spirit, and to 
become simply the conscious and willing me- 
dium of the divine blessing to other souls. It 
seeks to work in its own way, to lay out its 
own plans, to accomplish something great and 
noble as of itself, — instead of laying its firm 
hold on the Divine hand let down for its guid- 
8 



84 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

ance and support. Such self-distrust, such easy 
discouragement, has never learned the lesson of 
a true self-renunciation; for too often it arises 
from an undue self-appreciation, which asks not 
in lowly prayer only to be, in Goctfs own way, 
a ministering servant unto others. 

Let the teacher cherish an earnest desire to 
carry the message of Christ's truth to other souls, 
relying solely on his promise of help and blessing ; 
let him cherish a living faith in those ivhom he 
teaches, in the eternal reality of what he teaches, 
and he will seldom doubt his poiver to teach. 
He will no longer be anxiously questioning what 
others may think of him, or whether his success 
be greater or less ; but the truth realized in his 
own secret consciousness, the love of Christ fill- 
ing his soul, will compel him to the work. It 
will be harder for him to refrain from entering 
the field, or to quit the service, than to toil ear- 
nestly, laboriously, and truly. He knows that 
his Master is there, and under his standard would 
he endure the same toils and difficulties, humbly 
trusting likewise to share with him the same 
eternal joy and blessedness. 

Have faith, then, in your power to teach ; for, 
as it was given to the early disciples, in the horn* 
of danger and of trial, what they ought to speak, 
even so shall your soul, resting wholly upon God, 
be filled with the Spirit, and your tongue shall 
be kindled as with the fire of inspiration, and 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 85 

your lips shall glow with the burning utterance 
of truth. 

Look upward ever. Catch your inspiration 
from the Saviour's own lips. Grasp the hand 
even now stretched forth to guide and lead you. 
Accept the proffered help and the tender sym- 
pathy. Be of good courage ; rise, for it is no 
human voice, but the Master that calleth thee, 
that bids thee cast aside the fear and the doubt 
and the hesitancy, and to enter joyfully and cour- 
ageously into his service. He bids thee gird on 
the armor and put on the breast-plate of faith 
and love, and, " strong in utter weakness," to be 
his now and for ever. 

How has this earnest, conscious, trusting faith 
shed the brightest radiance over the darkest pas- 
sages of human life, and enriched its barren and 
desolate wastes with a heavenly beauty and a 
divine glory! Its light has pierced the captive's 
cell, and often poured its holiest beams amid the 
gloom and darkness of the dungeon ; it has 
cheered the wanderer on his solitary path, and 
strengthened the lonely missionary to deeds of 
noble self-sacrifice and cheerful self-renunciation ; 
it has filled the home of the poor with riches far 
surpassing the splendor and the glory of Solo- 
mon, — and by its side, in the rich man's home, 
the countless treasures of wealth and luxury look 
dim and pale ; it lights the brow of childhood 
with a gentler beauty, and places the crown of 



86 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

patient endurance on the head of saintly woman- 
hood ; it sheds its own holy and blessed radiance 
around the bed of sickness and of suffering, and 
encircles the brow of the dying with a celestial 
glory ; and over the silence of the grave it places 
the unfading bow of celestial promise, encircling 
both worlds in its beautiful embrace, and whis- 
pering in gentle accents those inspiring words, 
" He is not here, he is risen." 

How many and noble have been the instances 
in which this living faith has girded even the 
fearful and timid soul to deeds of noble heroism 
and sublime sacrifice, and enabled the spirit to 
press patiently and faithfully onward in daily 
duty, even though surrounded by darkness, trial, 
and discouragement ! How is the cold hesitancy 
of the mere worldling, and the timid faith of the 
half-believer, rebuked by these examples of a holy 
and sublime trust, — the world's richest and no- 
blest inheritance ! 

When we read of the noble " Apostle to the 
Indians," who so richly merited this significant 
title, devoting, in entire faith, the powers of a 
strong intellect and the vigorous years of a faith- 
ful and active life to the laborious task of trans- 
lating the Scriptures into an unwritten and sav- 
age tongue, that he might better convey the Gos- 
pel of divine truth to the unlettered and ignorant 
tribes among whom he so zealously labored; 
when we remember the devoted Cheverus, in- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 87 

flamed with an equal zeal and faith, encoun- 
tering hardship and severe privations amid the 
primeval forests of Maine, surrounded by unciv- 
ilized Indians, or lovingly and unostentatiously 
laboring among scenes of poverty, distress, and 
pestilence in the crowded streets of the me- 
tropolis of New England, or when in the Arch- 
bishop's palace, surrounded by luxury, wealth, 
and refinement, the great and the noble deemed 
it an honor to claim him as their guest whom 
no elevation, no worldly distinction or power, 
could render less simple and loving or less de- 
voted to his Master's work ; when we recall the 
native enthusiasm of Loyola, first baptized and 
consecrated by a religious faith and hope on the 
couch of sickness and suffering, which, to human 
sight, seemed destined to destroy his fondest 
hopes and anticipations, but by the divine bless- 
ing became to him as the entrance to a new 
and spiritual life, — his soul being so pervaded 
and filled with ardent zeal and an aspiring faith, 
that henceforth no effort was too laborious, no 
sacrifice too great, no suffering too severe, for 
him to encounter in the service of his Lord; 
when we remember Luther's bold promulgation 
of the Apostolic doctrine of justification by 
faith alone, by which he turned the world upside 
down, breaking the chains of a self-righteous 
morality and a self-sufficient piety ; when we 
remember Wilberforce, with a Christ-like faith 



88 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

and love toiling for years amid opposition, ob- 
loquy, and scorn in the great cause of human 
brotherhood and freedom ; when we go back in 
thought to those earlier days of the Church, when 
the acknowledgment of a Christian faith was the 
seal of persecution and death, and remember 
those whose only homes were among the cata- 
combs of the imperial city or in wild and desert 
places, their only refuge from the bitter tyranny 
of oppression ; when we number the long ar- 
ray of noble witnesses to Christ; of martyrs, 
ambitious only to suffer for their Master; of 
holy men in every age, who have loved truth 
more than worldly honor and distinction ; of 
reformers, who have boldly braved sceptical 
taunts and cold sneers, and with unflinching 
purpose pressed boldly on in their earnest en- 
deavors for the attainment of a higher truth and 
right; of missionaries, true to their calling in 
the midst of discouragement and weakness, 
counting it all joy if they might plant the sin- 
gle seed of truth, perchance the germ of future 
harvests alone ; when such men as Schwartz 
and Martyn, Boardman, Judson, and Hall, NefT, 
and Oberlin, rise before us in their self-sacrificing 
devotedness and holy trust ; when we recall the 
names of those less conspicuous to the world's 
eye, but none the less true and devoted in a dif- 
ferent sphere, — the noble Lady Huntington, the 
praetical Hannah Moore, the zealous Catharine 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 89 

Adorna, the gentle Elizabeth Carter, the self- 
sacrificing Mrs. Fry, the true and faithful Mary 
Ware, — we feel that there is a reality in the 
Christian faith, a power to lift the soul above all 
selfish considerations, to transform it into the 
Saviour's image, and to make it one with God. 
We can no longer question or coldly doubt its 
divine and inherent force, for its quickening 
pulse beats through our veins, and its sympa- 
thetic thrill nerves our weak and often faint en- 
deavors, as we read of that glorious crowd of 
witnesses, who, having maintained a good con- 
fession, have entered into the joy of their Lord. 

Not alone to those distinguished by peculiar 
trials or sufferings, or occupying conspicuous 
stations in life, would we look. We would also 
remember those whose path has been among the 
sheltered scenes of life, in homes of holy love ; 
whose daily toil has been sanctified by the spirit 
of prayer; whose self-sacrificing devotedness to 
others has been surpassed by none for whom 
the world claims the crown of an immortal saint- 
ship ; who have patiently watched by the couch 
of lingering disease and chronic infirmity, and 
calmly stood by the dying-bed of those most 
dear, commending the parting soul, in the spirit 
of an entire submission and a holy trust, to the 
Father of all. We would remember those who, 
in the Saviour's spirit, have gathered the wan- 
dering and outcast, the children of ignorance and 



90 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

sin, and in simple reliance on the divine word 
of promise, have gone from house to house, 
breaking to them the bread of life ; those who 
have been unwearied amid the cares and per- 
plexities of daily life, and whose lamp of love 
has ever been kept trimmed and burning ; who 
through faith in God have met discouragement 
and disappointment, and transformed every trial 
into a means of heavenly growth and progress. 

As this nearer cloud of witnesses gathers 
around us, with their words of holy love, as we 
recognize the familiar countenances of those who 
have cheered us on life's pilgrimage, or the secret 
and hallowed influence of whose characters has 
quickened in our souls a nobler aspiration and 
a holier trust, we feel and believe more deeply 
the reality of that spirit of faith through which 
they conquered, and by which we also may at- 
tain. It is no longer a mere word, but a working 
force and an active power, felt in the secret depths 
of the soul, bringing it into a nearer communion 
with the Saviour's spirit, and into a holier har- 
mony with God. 

When, in the hour of secret thought and heav- 
enly communion, the Christian teacher remem- 
bers those committed to his charge, and bears 
them in his heart in his earnest prayer of inter- 
cession, let him ever pray in this spirit of con- 
fiding faith, looking not for immediate suc- 
cess or an earthly recompense of reward, but 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 91 

believing that every seed of holy and right en- 
deavor, however humble, will bear its true and 
ripened fruit, 

" In those everlasting gardens, 
Where angels walk, and seraphs are the wardens ; 
Where every flower brought safe through death's dark portal 
Becomes immortal." 



92 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 



CHAPTER VII. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. MENTAL 

ENDOWMENTS AND SPECIAL PREPARATION. 



" To serve the present age, 
My calling to fulfil, 
0, may it all my powers engage 
To do my Master's will ! " 



Having spoken of some of the spiritual traits 
of character, and the heart qualifications, to be 
faithfully sought and cultivated by every true 
teacher, we would now pass to considerations of 
a more intellectual nature, and to those mental 
qualities essential to render one a successful and 
effective teacher of the young. 

Going into almost any of our Sunday schools, 
and carefully watching the working of the whole 
system as it now exists, the observer is at once 
impressed with the fact that there are not ap- 
parent that progress, order, unity, and system, 
which so strikingly characterize the best con- 
ducted of our public schools. Children of all 
ages and capacities are admitted, and often 
classed with little reference to their various de- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 93 

grees of mental and moral advancement ; they 
remain with the same teacher for a longer or 
shorter time, too often according to the mere 
caprice of the child or the wishes or capacity of 
the teacher ; they are then transferred to another 
class ; the manual already used for many months 
is perhaps recommenced ; often the teacher or 
superintendent makes no thorough examination 
of the pupil, to ascertain the true amount of his 
knowledge, and months and even years are passed 
without any definite, real progress being made. 
Sabbath after Sabbath he attends, but finds that 
no more knowledge is imparted to him than he 
has already gained by a cursory study of his pre- 
scribed lesson at home. He has learned the first 
lessons of religious truth, committed the simple 
hymns of childhood, studied the Gospels with 
the aid of some manual or commentary, and 
then, finding that no new field of thought and 
inquiry is open to him, he naturally becomes 
indifferent to his lessons ; the school hour offers 
no excitement, no stimulus, to his mental powers, 
and an irregular attendance or a divided atten- 
tion soon manifests his loss of interest. 

Is such a result the fault of the child or the 
youth alone, as the teacher is too apt to imagine ? 
As he attends the day-school, he is conscious 
from week to week of progress, — that most 
powerful stimulus to every aspiring, active mind, 
and he is sure of finding in his teacher one capa- 



94 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

ble of leading him on in his studies, and direct- 
ing his inquiries; and if faithful to himself, he 
knows that, at the close of the year, he will 
stand on a higher plane than at its commence- 
ment. His powers are taxed, his capacities de- 
veloped, his reason and judgment strengthened 
by use, his imagination roused, and his curiosity 
excited. When he turns to the Sabbath school, 
he feels a want of impetus, a want of systematic 
progress, of growing intellectual attainment. We 
have known a child kept for two or three years 
studying the same little catechism or manual, 
because the whole was not faithfully committed 
to memory, to be recited verbatim, until its very 
sight awakened a feeling of disgust. Now, thor- 
ough teaching we would advocate as strongly 
and as urgently as any one, but we are very sure 
that thoroughness is not to be attained in this 
mechanical, dispiriting way. We remember at- 
tending once the examination of a high school, 
in company with a friend whose Sabbath scholars 
were pupils of the institution, and recollect the 
astonishment she expressed in finding them so far 
advanced in their studies, capable of performing 
difficult problems in mathematics, and of passing 
a good examination in natural philosophy, gram- 
mar, French, &c. It was a speaking and em- 
phatic rebuke for her own neglect in ascertaining 
the true capacities of her pupils, and in prepar- 
ing herself to meet their higher and more spirit- 
ual wants. 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 95 

Is not such the case in a greater or less degree 
in all our schools ? Must there not be a growth 
in some degree commensurate with the progress 
made in our secular schools, if we would have 
the instructions of the Sabbath vital and life- 
giving ? Must we not have a more definite sys- 
tem of instruction, a more regular, progressive, 
thorough course of study pursued, commencing 
with the child's earliest years, and continuing 
until he leaves the school, or takes, himself, the 
place of a teacher ? 

Not that we would advocate a slavish con- 
formity to a prescribed rule, or feel that every 
child needed or was capable of pursuing the 
same course of study. This would be utterly 
impossible in the present state of our schools, 
where some children attend but few months, 
others a year, and others still many years. If 
the instructions were more definitely systema- 
tized, and the schools better classified, we be- 
lieve that much might be done towards the at- 
tainment of this end. 

As the first essential step towards such a de- 
sirable attainment, as the first requisite to meet 
this imperative need of our schools as they now 
exist, we would speak of the necessity of teach- 
ers being truly qualified for their work. 

Many seem to feel, that, intellectually speak- 
ing, a general knowledge of the facts of Gospel 
history is all that is needed to enable them to 
9 



96 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

become teachers of the young ; that, if they can 
hear the simple lessons recited, or give some gen- 
eral explanations gleaned hastily from a popular 
commentary, it is all that is essential. 

Here lies a most fatal error ; for how are re- 
ligious truths to be rendered attractive and in- 
teresting, without thorough preparation on the 
teacher's part, any more than the truths of sci- 
ence or the formulas of mathematics ? A child 
is far less easily satisfied than an adult with half- 
explanations and a mere superficial knowledge, 
and he soon discovers whether he can rely upon 
his teacher for real assistance. 

Take even the best conducted of our schools, 
and how few of the teachers could pass any good 
examination in the very fundamentals of Chris- 
tian truth, in the evidences of religion, the proofs 
of the genuineness of the Gospels, and their his- 
tory and transmission! How few, too, possess 
any distinct idea of the harmony of the Gospel 
narratives, of the occasions on which the Epis- 
tles were written, and the causes which imme- 
diately dictated them ; while with many more 
the Old Testament, with its rich stores of biog- 
raphy, history, poetry, and prophecy, is regarded 
with utter indifference ; and the origin and his- 
tory of the Jewish faith in its peculiar relation 
to Christianity is considered as of little moment ! 
How little definite information does there exist, 
too, of the relation of Christianity to the general 



OP THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 97 

history of the world, of its influence upon art, 
civilization, and language ! 

Why should teachers, thus unprepared by a 
proper course of study for their work, be em- 
ployed in our Sabbath schools any more than in 
our common schools ? Why should they not 
be required to pass an examination in certain 
studies before assuming such a responsibility ? 
Would it not be more for the interests of our 
schools in general to have fewer teachers, and 
these thoroughly fitted for their work, than to 
have so much vague, indefinite teaching as is 
now often given ? Much as we approve of the 
division of our schools into small classes, where 
alone the teacher can become intimately ac- 
quainted with the peculiar dispositions, wants, 
and temptations of each pupil, and thus adapt 
his instruction accordingly, we have sometimes 
thought that it would be better to have larger 
divisions, under the care of competent instruc- 
tors, than to have so many uneducated teachers 
employed. 

In speaking of the requisite qualifications of 
the teacher, we would not be unmindful of those 
who are in heart devoted to the work, but who 
possess little leisure or opportunity to pursue a 
course of intellectual study, or an examination 
into the higher branches of Christian truth. 

Minds of every class are needed among us, pro- 
vided they are only aivake, earnest, and faithful. 



98 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

To one unable to learn from books to any wide 
extent, the great and constantly varying lessons 
of daily life are ever opened, and from these he 
may draw ceaseless instruction. 

An active, inquiring mind is the first intel- 
lectual requisite, — a mind constantly growing, 
constantly gaining new accessions of strength 
and power, through the trials and joys, the duties 
and the discipline, of each passing day. Every 
little circumstance, every passing incident, every 
varied phenomenon of the outward world, may 
be made conducive to the greater interest of one's 
teachings ; he will treasure them up as means of 
illustrating the highest spiritual truths, of first 
awakening the curiosity or fixing the wandering 
attention. 

For instance; one Sabbath morning, a class 
of little girls had for their appointed lesson a 
portion of the Sermon on the Mount. The 
words were familiar to them, and half a dozen 
verses were correctly repeated. But their thoughts 
were evidently anywhere but on the lesson. In- 
stead of directly reproving them, however, or in 
set terms asking their attention, their teacher 
showed them a small twig of the chestnut- tree, 
which she had carefully broken off the day be- 
fore, and began by explaining to them the won- 
derful manner in which the germ of the new 
green leaves were all enfolded in the bud, so 
carefully preserved amid the snows and cold of 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 99 

winter, how the sap circulated through each mi- 
nute fibre, and the warm spring sunshine and 
the gentle rains pierced the outer casement, until 
the first delicate green of the leaf appeared, to 
be so soon succeeded by the darker hue and the 
denser shades of the summer foliage. Her ob- 
ject was gained, — an interest was excited ; and 
turning again to the simple words, " Consider the 
lilies of the field," a lesson upon the constant 
goodness and love of God was imparted, which 
no formal repetition of truths would ever have 
impressed. 

So should it ever be with the teacher. He 
should never feel that his work for the week is 
finished, when he has studied the appointed les- 
son or when the school hour is over. His prep- 
aration is never completed, for it is co-extensive 
with his moral and intellectual advantages, and 
with the whole discipline of life. The best and 
most effective preachers are those who the most 
faithfully garner up the lessons of each passing 
day and make them conducive to the highest 
spiritual ends ; and so is it with the Sunday- 
school teacher, — for he also is a pastor, he also 
has a flock committed to his keeping, and equally 
momentous and solemn, though not equally ex- 
tensive, are his responsibilities. 

Such a daily preparation every teacher is bound 
to make, however limited his sphere or however 
narrow his means of intellectual culture ; and 
9* 



100 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

where such preparation is united with the spirit- 
ual qualifications already considered, we shall 
always find effective, useful, and faithful teach- 
ers, though they may not be qualified to carry 
on their pupils in the study of the highest 
branches of religious truth. 

To the many in our schools who have enjoyed 
the advantages and opportunities of a more lib- 
eral culture we would say emphatically, that the 
standard of intellectual fitness for their work is 
altogether too low, and one great cause of the 
want of a higher and truer success. 

As the next requisite for a good teacher, we 
would place the possession of definite, clear, and 
accurate ideas upon the subjects taught. It is 
surprising to find how many undertake to impart 
a knowledge of the most momentous of all 
themes, to speak upon subjects the highest and 
most sublime that can ever occupy the human 
mind, whose own views are crude, unsettled, 
and indefinite. 

New truths will, of course, be constantly un- 
folding to the inquiring mind, but there must be 
some firm, definite substratum of faith, on which 
to found, any real progress ; and this can only be 
gained by patient thought, careful investigation, 
and a diligent study of the Word of Truth. Ev- 
ery teacher should have definite ideas of the 
great truths of Christian doctrine, — of the being 
and attributes of God, of the nature and offices 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 101 

of Christ, of the soul's need of redemption, of 
salvation through a crucified Saviour, of retribu- 
tion and eternity. These views should be dis- 
tinctly imaged to his own soul, or he will surely 
fail in imparting them distinctly and clearly to 
others. Can they be obtained simply through a 
mechanical acceptance of the truth ? Is not the 
teacher thus wronging both his own soul and 
those of his pupils ? Dogmatic teaching we would 
be far from advocating, neither would we have 
the sacred hours of the Sabbath devoted to the 
mere critical discussion of disputed doctrines. 
But if the teacher would faithfully consider the 
wants of his pupils, and distinctly meet the 
questions that arise, incidentally at least, in al- 
most every lesson, he must have his own settled 
and definite views of truth. He must constantly 
seek for such ; must ever inquire more and more 
earnestly into the hidden secrets of divine wis- 
dom ; must make it his fixed aim to attain to 
clear convictions on these most important themes. 
Nothing is more fatal to success than a want 
of clearness in the teacher's own mind ; for where 
a subject is thoroughly comprehended, there is 
seldom a lack of definite expression. Such def- 
initeness is needed, not only in relation to the 
higher themes of truth, but also in connection 
with every subject embraced within the wide 
range of Christian teaching. Take the simplest 
lesson, and let it be repeated in a merely mechani- 



102 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

cal manner, and then observe how different will be 
the interest excited, if the teacher be able to illus- 
trate its varied incidents and truths by a vivid 
description of the places mentioned, by an accu- 
rate account of the manners and customs preva- 
lent at the time, by alluding to contemporary 
events, and showing the influence of Christianity 

in moulding the habits and modes of life of va- 
cs 

rious nations. Then let him pass on to the clear 
enforcement of the direct truths springing from 
the subject, and the lesson becomes simply the 
nucleus for imparting a large amount of useful 
knowledge and high spiritual truth. 

The practical teacher needs, also, to cultivate 
the habit of close and accurate observation, in 
order to store his mind with ready illustrations, 
and to enable him the more easily and truly to 
read the characters of those committed to his 
care. A great part of the mistakes and failures 
in our schools arise from the true nature and 
character of the pupil being misunderstood ; and 
this power or capacity of comprehending an- 
other mind can be gained only by a faithful 
study of one's own spirit, and by a true and heart- 
felt sympathy with others, united with a quick 
perception of, and a close attention to, all those 
nameless trifling incidents that so often more 
clearly reveal the true character than any striking 
act or great deed. 

A teacher had in her class a pupil very unin- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 103 

teresting in manners and appearance, seemingly- 
cold and indifferent, and who could rarely be in- 
duced to answer even a single question before 
others. The teacher observed her attentively, 
but could gain little insight into her real charac- 
ter. One Sabbath, she watched the changing 
expression of her countenance, and the anima- 
tion that lighted up her face, as she read the 
sublime words of one of the old Hebrew proph- 
ets. A key to her hitherto concealed feelings 
was at once given. Beneath that cold exterior, 
and diffident, almost repulsive manner, there was 
a hidden enthusiasm, a deep love of the poetical, 
and an appreciation of the beautiful, that few 
understood. The teacher at once addressed her- 
self to this trait of character, and the pupil soon 
felt that she was no longer apart from others, — 
that one, at least, understood and sympathized 
with her. The ice was broken ; confidence took 
the place of a cold reserve, and there is now no 
more interesting and attentive pupil in the class 

than Ellen B . 

This same habit of observation should also be 
cultivated with regard to all the wonderful phe- 
nomena of the outward universe ; for what more 
conducive to the purity and elevation of the soul 
than an habitual communion with God through 
his works ; and what more fruitful source of in- 
struction and illustration to the teacher is there 
than this ? A love of what is beautiful and 



104 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

wonderful in the creation is natural to the child. 
To his opening mind everything around him is 
fall of mystery, and how easy to lead those ques- 
tioning thoughts up to the great Author and 
Giver of all good ! 

The glad sunshine and the darkened cloud, the 
gentle summer shower and the fierce winter's 
storm, the delicate spring flower and the gorgeous 
autumn foliage, the tiny pebble on the seashore 
and the variegated moss that fringes the moun- 
tain-pine, the murmuring stream and the thun- 
dering cataract, the wild music of the ocean's 
ceaseless roar, and the solemn cadence of the 
vast and mighty forests, — all are full of lessons 
of the highest wisdom, power, and goodness ; 
all are unfailing sources through which to teach 
the child of that great and holy Being, upon 
whose goodness he constantly and ceaselessly 
depends. Still greater will be the interest ex- 
cited, if to the mere observation and love of 
the beautiful in nature the teacher adds some 
definite knowledge of the laws of science and 
of art, and is able to illustrate how, in the 
most common phenomena of daily life, the 
same eternal law and order are visible, — regu- 
lating the falling of the stone from the green hill- 
side and guiding the most distant planet in its 
vast and solemn orbit, painting the dew-drop on 
the summer's morn and arching the heavens 
with the bow of eternal promise, touching the 



OP THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 105 

autumn foliage with its gorgeous tints, and cov- 
ering the mighty waters as with a breastplate. 
Never let him speak of these laws, or of the reg- 
ular and beautiful order of nature, as mere cold 
abstractions. Let him teach the child of the 
Father's hand, as the one sole mover and up- 
holder of all, the one first and only cause, dwell- 
ing in and through all things, whose agency is 
ceaselessly present in each ray of light, each 
springing blade of grass, each sparkling dew-drop, 
and each changing leaf; whose love is manifest 
in the choral song of birds and the humming of 
insects, and the gladness of all animated creation ; 
in the freshness and brightness of the early morn, 
and the solemn stillness and hushed silence of 
the night season ; in the fragrance and beauty of 
the simplest flower, and the ever-varying and 
wonderful beauty of the passing clouds, arching 
the heavens as with a divine glory and radiance. 
Never let him teach of the powers of nature as 
something distinct and separate from God, — as 
if nature were a perfect machine, once set in 
motion and eternally reproducing her own works, 
— as if the Eternal dwelt afar off, and took no 
immediate care or concern of his infinite crea- 
tion ; but let him teach of the Omnipresent 
Father, whose power is as directly manifest in 
the summer breeze and the gently waving foliage 
as in the mighty whirlwind and fierce winter's 
storm ; who blends each ray of glad and cheerful 



106 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

light with the same eternal wisdom and power 
that guide Arcturus and Orion in their courses, 
whose watchfulness is as direct and constant over 
the most transient insect of a summer's day as 
over the movement of mighty suns and systems. 

Let the thought of God's constant presence be 
thus brought very near to the soul ; let it be in- 
wrought into the child's daily life and conscious 
existence ; let it be so inseparably united with all 
his varied experience, that nothing shall ever 
shake its assured reality or lead him to doubt 
the almighty power, the eternal wisdom, and the 
unchangeable goodness of Him upon whom he 
daily and hourly depends, — whose thoughts are 
not as our thoughts, and whose ways are often 
inscrutable and past finding out; but who, in 
the blessed revelation of his Son, has made 
himself known as the Father of all, the God of 
perfect love and holiness, ever abiding with the 
soul that turns to Him with a child-like confi- 
dence and a reverential trust. 

The teacher needs especially a thorough and 
growing knowledge of the Scriptures. He should 
never rest satisfied with a merely general, super- 
ficial acquaintance with their contents, or feel 
that he has ever fathomed their full meaning, 
for the study of a lifetime could not exhaust 
their rich treasures of spiritual instruction. He 
should feel it to be his duty, as well as his 
privilege, to be constantly gaining new light from 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 107 

every available source, to be seeking new and 
more enlarged views of truth and duty, and to 
enter more and more into the comprehension of 
their sublime and momentous revelations. He 
needs not merely a knowledge of the facts of 
the Gospels, but a definite idea of the harmony 
of the different narratives, of the convincing 
proofs of their genuineness and authenticity, 
and of the preservation of their contents from 
the earliest time, amid the ignorance and super- 
stition of the Dark Ages, the bitter strife and 
persecution of rival sects, and the domineering 
spirit of mere partisanship and personal ambi- 
tion. He needs also to study carefully the Epis- 
tles, with their rich treasures of thought and spir- 
itual experience, and to become familiar with 
the writings of those who were the personal dis- 
ciples and immediate followers of Christ, who 
were solemnly commissioned and peculiarly en- 
dowed by him to preach the Gospel, and to 
spread abroad the truth which he lived, suffered, 
and died to establish in the world. The writ- 
ings of Paul, particularly, studied carefully and 
thoughtfully, will no longer be regarded as ob- 
scure and unedifying, as is so often the case 
even with intelligent persons. To many his 
Epistles have been, and will ever remain, as 
sealed books ; but not necessarily so. Let them 
only be approached in the wide and catholic 
spirit in which they were written, with some 
10 



108 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

adequate conception of their general design, 
scope, and purpose ; let them be read carefully 
and diligently, without reference to sect or 
creed or party ; let their spirit of fervent love, 
of living earnestness, of deep spirituality and 
kindling faith, be in some measure compre- 
hended and felt, and they cannot be read or 
studied without advantage and interest. New 
depths of thought, new forms of beauty, new 
conceptions of truth, will constantly reveal them- 
selves to the diligent seeker, and Paul will no 
longer seem as a mere abstract conception, but 
as a living, personal, sympathizing friend, pre- 
eminently worthy of being a chosen servant of 
Christ, the Apostle to the Gentiles, and the 
preacher of Christianity to the whole world, in 
all ages and in all climes. 

The Old Testament, with its rich stores of life 
and of wisdom, its history and biography, its 
poetry and prophecy, is regarded by many at the 
present time with growing or utter indifference, 
and often wholly excluded from the religious in- 
struction of the young. But what a wide field 
of study and research is here open to the faithful 
teacher ! Extending back to that earliest and 
unknown period of time when, in the midst of 
chaotic darkness the sublime mandate was first 
uttered, " Let there be light," and thence onward, 
through succeeding centuries, and the varied his- 
tory of the human race, when the darkness of igno- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 109 

ranee and sin was from time to time illuminated 
by the light of prophecy, and the examples of 
holy and faithful men, who placed a firm, im- 
plicit reliance on the covenant word of promise ; 
until, as the ages rolled on, the brightness of a 
more glorious day appeared, " shedding light on 
the waning star of Jacob and the darkened for- 
tunes of the house of David." 

The teacher needs, especially, to have some 
distinct and definite understanding of the true 
authority of these separate books, so rich in in- 
struction and interest ; to be well versed in their 
ample stores of biography and historical wealth, 
and to be especially familiar with their sublime 
strains of prayer and of worship. " He should 
also be conversant with the leading facts of eccle- 
siastical history, the geography of the religious 
world, the distinctive marks of the chief Chris- 
tian sects, and the lives and services of the repre- 
sentative men of different ages and sections of 
the Church." He needs, too, to have distinct 
and clearly denned views upon the authority of 
a divine revelation as established and confirmed 
by miracle. 

At the present time, when there exists so much 
scepticism upon the very fundamentals of Chris- 
tian truth, — when, by many, faith is merged in 
scientific knowledge, and all truth rejected that 
cannot be fully comprehended by human reason 
or measured and denned as by geometrical rule 



110 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

and line ; when cold Rationalism is substituted 
for ardent piety, and a self-sufficient righteous- 
ness for faith in Christ, — when there exists, es- 
pecially among those just entering upon early 
manhood, so much love of doubting, and that 
pride of reason which is constantly questioning 
the plainest truths of revelation, and imagines 
that it is exalting itself whenever it can seeming- 
ly falsify some long-accepted truth by the skilful 
use of its newly acquired logic, though it leaves 
nothing in its place but barren formulas and a 
cold scepticism, — the Christian teacher needs, 
with new care and with new zeal and earnest- 
ness, to re-examine the grounds of his belief, and 
to be sure that he is able to impart to others defi- 
nite ideas and convincing proofs of the faith he 
teaches. 

Let him not vainly endeavor to bound his in- 
structions or his faith by the limitations of human 
knowledge, or be afraid sometimes to assert on 
the authority of Scripture w^hat passes his own 
reason. " Every great spiritual doctrine termi- 
nates in mystery, by the very necessity of spirit. 
The essence of faith is a reverential confession 
of the limitations of sight." So should the teach- 
er, ever seeking higher and wider views of truth, 
still bow in reverential awe and holy trust before 
the Infinite and the Unknown, and remember that 
the noblest and highest intellect can only exclaim, 
in deep humility, " How unsearchable are his 



OP THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. Ill 

judgments, and his ways past finding out!" 
" Now we see as through a glass, darkly ; but 
then face to face ! " 

He should seek, by the faithful use of every op- 
portunity he may enjoy, to develop and strength- 
en his mental powers, to add to his already ac- 
quired knowledge, and to enrich his mind from 
the treasures of literature, art, science, and po- 
etry. His reason should be often employed 
upon such subjects as tax the powers of the 
mind, and require real thought and close applica- 
tion ; his judgment should be strengthened by 
exercise and a keen observation of the passing 
events of daily life ; his imagination cultivated 
and restrained, and his taste purified and edu- 
cated, — all this, not merely for his own sake, 
but to render him better qualified to teach even 
the simplest truths to others. Even the more 
abstruse studies of mathematics, or the acquire- 
ment of foreign languages, or a familiar ac- 
quaintance with the higher walks of literature, 
will not be as useless wealth to their possessor ; 
for a mind, rich, cultivated, and constantly pro- 
gressing, will ever make its true momentum felt. 
How magical the charm that such a mind can 
throw over the most familiar and worn-out truths, 
by the power of illustration and analogy, by a 
full appreciation of the subject, and a good de- 
gree of enthusiasm in delineating it to others ! 

How much can such a teacher effect in form- 
10* 



112 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

ing the tastes and intellectual habits of his pu- 
pils, without any apparent direct effort to this 
end ! He can stimulate them to greater diligence 
in their studies, point out to them instructive and 
useful courses of reading, interest them in the 
wonders of science, incite them to higher aims 
by references to the biographies of the great and 
good, quicken their observation of the boundless 
works of nature, and, through his own active and 
earnest spirit, insensibly lead them to loftier aims 
and nobler attainments. 

A teacher thus qualified for his work will 
never bound his instructions by any given man- 
ual. He will, indeed, teach thoroughly and sys- 
tematically, but having faithfully studied the 
given lesson, he will find it necessary rather to 
select from the abundance of his materials than 
to be casting about to discover what he can say, 
or how he may occupy the given hour. Like the 
faithful pastor, he will be constantly gathering 
up new stores of wisdom, and well feel that even 
his leisure hours are to be made subservient to 
his highest intellectual and moral progress. 

Some may assert, that few have the opportu- 
nity to make this thorough preparation for their 
work, or are able thus to fit themselves to be 
teachers to the more advanced pupils. With 
many, is not the aim, the desire, rather than the 
ability or opportunity, wanting? Do we not 
often find among those who are the most busily 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 113 

occupied during the week those who have made 
the most self-improvement, and who are the most 
faithful in seeking to prepare themselves for their 
duties as teachers ? Often those who have en- 
joyed the best advantages of education, and who 
possess the most leisure, make the least effective 
teachers ; for it is the spirit and the earnest desire 
of improvement, rather than the amount gained, 
that constitute the true momentum of character. 
He who improved the two talents committed to 
his charge received the same commendation with 
the recipient of the five ; it was the slothful, neg- 
ligent servant who was rebuked and rejected. 

Were this higher intellectual culture, this spirit 
of self-improvement, regarded as essential by the 
teachers of our schools, we should no longer 
complain of the prevalent want of progress. If 
we are to look to those, now pupils, who leave 
these schools from year to year, to be in their 
turn teachers of others, how imperative the need 
that they should be thoroughly instructed in all 
the branches of a true Christian faith ! 

" What is to be done to render our schools more 
efficient and useful ? " is a question again and 
again asked. We reply at once, and emphati- 
cally, — next to the spiritual culture already con- 
sidered, — Educate teachers thoroughly for their 
work. Begin by adopting some simple criterion, 
by requiring some definite qualifications in the 
teacher, ere he takes charge of a class, however 



114 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

young or ignorant. Enough has there been of 
mere hap-hazard teaching, enough of random, 
indefinite teaching. Would we see a thorough 
reform in our whole system, we must begin at 
the fountain-head. It must be distinctly under- 
stood, that no one can become a teacher in the 
Sabbath school, without due preparation, any 
more than a teacher in a public day-school. 

Since we are now laboring under the disad- 
vantages and errors resulting from this want of 
preparation, and of personal fitness for the office, 
we would suggest, as some remedy for the evil, 
that the teachers of our several schools be re- 
quired to meet at stated times, to pursue regular 
courses of reading, study, and inquiry, under the 
direction of some competent teacher or superin- 
tendent, or of the pastor, if he have the leisure 
to devote to this end. Let every teacher who is 
not already well versed in the subject be re- 
quired to attend such meetings, and to make 
himself thoroughly master of the lesson. Even 
one hour a week occupied thus systematically 
and thoroughly would do much toward the bring- 
ing in of a better state of things, especially if 
it were distinctly understood that none but those 
who are seeking to fit themselves for the work 
can be received as teachers. 

For the attainment of such an end, every 
teacher is individually responsible. He should 
magnify his office. He should feel the solemn 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 115 

obligation that rests upon him to render his own 
work thorough and complete, knowing that noth- 
ing can be trifling or worthless that has an eter- 
nal influence over other souls ; and that only as 
he improves his daily opportunities, only as he 
cultivates the talents committed to his keeping, 
will it be said, in the solemn day of account, 
" Well done, good and faithful servant ; thou 
hast been faithful over a few things, I will make 
thee ruler over many things : enter thou into the 
joy of thy Lord." 



116 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 



CHAPTER VIII 



DUTIES OF THE TEACHER. 



" Soldiers of Christ, arise ! 
And gird your armor on ! 
Strong in the strength which God supplies, 
Through his beloved Son." 



The disciple of Christ, as he undertakes the 
office of a Christian teacher, asks at once and 
earnestly, What are some of the peculiar duties 
now incumbent on me? What new responsi- 
bilities do I incur, as I enter on this field of la- 
bor ? What direct preparation must I make for 
meeting my class from Sabbath to Sabbath, in 
order to render my instructions vital and effec- 
tive ? 

The more general answers to these questions 
have already been given, in considering the spir- 
itual and intellectual qualifications of the teach- 
er ; but there are yet minor details, too impor- 
tant to be wholly passed over, implied, indeed, 
in what has already been said, but which it may 
be well to consider in their more direct, imme- 
diate bearing. 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 117 

First, it is the duty of the teacher to set apart 
some regular hour for the faithful study and 
preparation of the immediate lesson of the day. 
No matter how familiar he may be with its con- 
tents, how simple is the instruction to be given, 
or how young or ignorant are the children under 
his care, he needs carefully to consider anew the 
truth he seeks to impart, to study it in all its va- 
rious bearings, and to inquire how he may best 
apply it to his pupils. He needs to have illustra- 
tions and examples fresh in his mind, to be a 
thorough and entire master of his subject, that 
he may never be at a loss in giving the needed ex- 
planation or in imparting the desired knowledge. 
Where the mind has been chiefly occupied with 
other duties and distracting cares during the 
week, this hour of faithful study is especially 
requisite; for if the teacher resumes the thread 
of his instruction where it was suspended the 
week before, with no intervening thought, no 
higher progress or more definite knowledge on 
his own part, his resources will very soon be ex- 
hausted, to say nothing of the decline of interest 
in his pupils. 

The pastor of one of our long-established 
churches remarked, not long since, in an address 
to the teachers of his school, " I think myself 
authorized to speak on this point with some con- 
fidence ; for, though I have made the Scriptures 
my constant and critical study for more than 



118 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

twenty years, yet, were I to attend the exercises 
of a Sunday-school class, I should not consider 
myself right and safe in so doing without special 
preparation for the lesson of the day With- 
out such a preparation, the exercise will dwindle 
into a mere mechanical recitation, or else much 
of what is said will be crude and undigested, 
some of it inaccurate, most of it trivial and un- 
satisfying Let your pupil go from you feel- 
ing that, in the knowledge of God and of Christ, 
both in the intellectual and in the heart knowl- 
edge, there is not only a life-long work, but that 

' A work so vast, a theme so high, 
Demands and crowns eternity.' " 

Secondly, it is the duty of the teacher to make 
direct spiritual preparation for meeting his class ; 
that is, the season of instruction should always 
be preceded by the hour of secret and devout 
prayer, and prolonged communion with Christ; 
— not a mere formal act of worship, not a life- 
less petition prompted by a sense of duty, the 
prayer, not of form, but of faith, the soul holding 
a true and conscious intercourse with the Unseen 
and Eternal. 

A faithful intellectual preparation may seem 
to be all-sufficient ; but such teaching will soon 
be found, like the shining glaciers of the towering 
Alps, brilliant and attractive for a brief season, 
but ever cokl. Though the soul may seek to 
dwell constantly beneath the quickening beams 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 119 

of the Sun of Righteousness, it needs such special 
seasons to reanimate and to revivify its power, 
to seek renewedly the baptism of the Holy Spirit, 
that its whole being may be permeated and filled 
as with an unction from the Holy One. 

It needs to watch in lowly prayer and con- 
scious self-abasement amid the shades and agony 
of Gethsemane, to bow in deep contrition and 
penitence before the cross on Calvary, to stand in 
awe and joyous faith beside the broken sepulchre, 
to climb in earnest prayer and holy aspiration 
the glorious mount of ascension. It needs to 
listen to the inspiring, animating, gentle tones 
of the Master's voice, to feel the quickening in- 
spiration of his presence, to place the hand con- 
fidingly in his, and with unhesitating faith to 
accept the promise, " My grace is sufficient for 
thee." It needs to pass through the mere outer 
courts of the great spiritual temple, to look with- 
in the veil, and to enter with reverential awe 
even into the Holy of Holies ; and alone, in that 
secret sanctuary, through the way consecrated 
by the great High-Priest and Intercessor, to hold 
communion with Him, whose presence is no 
longer visibly manifest in the glory and the cloud, 
as of old, to the chosen race of Israel, but now 
far more truly and for ever revealed in the person 
of the Saviour. 

As the teacher thus goes to his Sabbath duties, 
seemingly so trifling and insignificant, he will 
11 



120 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

feel that he is encompassed by " a great cloud of 
witnesses " ; and although, in the performance 
of his duties, he may often pass through the val- 
ley of humiliation or climb the hill of difficulty, 
light from the celestial city will shine upon his 
path, and angelic voices w T ill chant within his 
soul the inspiring strain, " Come up hither, — 
even unto Him who has redeemed us through 
his own blood, and made us kings and priests 
unto God." 

Let, then, some season be sacredly set apart 
by the teacher for this direct preparation for his 
duties. While the Sabbath morning hours may 
often be too short for this work, let the closing 
hours of the week be thus consecrated. Let the 
Saturday evening be set apart as a " preparation 
season," instead of being devoted, as by so many, 
to any mere passing amusement or social engage- 
ment. Would not the instructions and the ser- 
vices of the school and the sanctuary be impart- 
ed and received with far greater earnestness and 
efficacy, if the engrossing cares and duties, the 
business and the pleasures of the week were 
sooner laid aside, and a few hours given to holy 
meditation, to heavenly communion, and to se- 
cret prayer, and a brief period devoted to heart 
preparation for the duties of the Sabbath ? 

The maxim often quoted as an excuse for the 
neglect of such seasons of devotion, that " all 
days are alike," and that " every day is equally 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 121 

a Sabbath," too generally results in ignoring it 
altogether, and in levelling downward and earth- 
ward, rather than heavenward ; for the business 
and occupations of the week are too often made 
to intrude upon the day of rest, instead of the 
holy and spiritual influences of the Sabbath flow- 
ing through and purifying the stream of earthly 
care and engrossing duty. 

How blessed this " preparation season " to the 
Christian household, when the toils of the week 
are ended, when noisy mirth is hushed, and par- 
ents and children unite together in anticipation 
of the duties and pleasures of the coming Sab- 
bath ; when mutual help, sympathy, and encour- 
agement are rendered, and a feeling of more de- 
vout reverence, a higher aspiration, and a warmer 
love, are quickened in every soul ! 

How important the right improvement of this 
season, too, to those who would not only join in 
the services of public worship, but who would 
teach others also of the way of life ! 

In regard to the use of this, or any period of 
time, the Christian will not look to the example 
or custom of the world around, but, under a prev- 
alent and constraining sense of his own account- 
ability, with the Bible for his only guide, act 
with simple reference to his highest spiritual and 
eternal interests. 

Thus acting, he will never fall into any mere 
selfish or thoughtless routine of life, for He who 



122 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

gave himself a living sacrifice for man will go 
before him, ever marking out for him the true 
path in which to tread. 

While the teacher seeks, through heavenly com- 
munion and sincere prayer, to prepare his own 
spirit for the duties of the Sabbath, let him not 
forget to offer, likewise, earnest and devout in- 
tercession in behalf of his pupils. Let him re- 
member their peculiar wants, trials, and tempta- 
tions, and in fervent intercession bear each one 
in his heart as he bends in supplication. His 
direct counsels and words of instruction may 
seem to effect little good; but who knows the 
secret influences, the strength and help imparted 
to others, through such seasons of prayer and in- 
tercession ? Let him ask in faith, nothing waver- 
ing, knowing that if the petition be sincere it 
will assuredly be answered in God's good time. 
Let him ask, even as the little child goes to its 
parent with its earnest request, trusting, hope- 
ful, believing. Let him not hesitate, let him not 
tarry in the far-off country, but bring his suppli- 
cations and intercessions for others to the foot- 
stool of redeeming love, with the same assurance 
in which he offers the petition for personal guid- 
ance and a personal blessing. Such intercessions 
will never be in vain : they will be heard and an- 
swered. In the future world, may not the Chris- 
tian have added to his crown of rejoicing the 
grateful blessing of those who seemed utterly 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 12o 

cold, indifferent, and careless, but for whom his 
daily and fervent prayers went forth, that the in- 
fluences of the Spirit might rest upon them, lead- 
ing them to Christ and to heaven? 

The teacher may also exert a beneficial in- 
fluence over his pupils by sometimes seeking out 
opportunities of private intercourse with them, by 
offering the united prayer for strength and heav- 
enly blessing, by supplicating with and for them 
the help of the Spirit. For why should not the 
teacher of a class, as well as the pastor of a large 
flock, unite with those under his care in this 
sacred duty, and all together enjoy this blessed 
privilege ? Who can estimate the influence of such 
moments upon the spiritual character of the pupil ! 

" That might of faith, O Lord ! bestow, 
Which cannot ask in vain ; 
Which will not let the angel go 
Until the prayer it gain." 

At the present time, when so much scepticism 
abounds upon the whole subject of prayer, — 
when, by many, the simple faith taught by 
Christ, " Ask, and ye shall receive," is almost 
wholly ignored, and metaphysical questions are 
raised by half-believers upon the efficacy of 
prayer, and the reality of the blessing brought 
to the soul in answer to sincere supplication, as 
being inconsistent with the immutability of the 
divine counsels and the omniscience of the Eter- 
nal, — prayer being thus regarded only as an act 
11* 



124 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

of self-excitation by which the soul is brought 
into a state of higher self-consciousness, — the 
Christian teacher needs especially to go back to 
the very oracles of divine truth, and to look deep 
within his own soul, that he may learn the lesson 
of a child-like faith and a conscious dependence, 
— that he may believe the words of Christ when 
he says, " Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in 
my name, he will give it you." 

Were such a spirit of prayer prevalent through- 
out our schools, should we not notice nobler re- 
sults ? Is it not the lack of this more than all 
things else that so often renders our endeavors 
void and fruitless ? Do we habitually pray, as if 
we really believed that God is both able and will- 
ing to pour forth the quickening influences of 
his Spirit upon our churches and our schools, — 
to impart larger measures of life and holiness ? 
Do we pray that they may, indeed, be baptized 
with the power of the Spirit, aroused to holier 
endeavors, and filled with a divine energy? 
Only let such a spirit be kindled among us, let 
such earnest and fervent supplications go forth 
from the heart of every teacher, both in behalf 
of his own pupils and of all our schools, a new 
impulse and an ever-increasing activity and 
power of usefulness will be diffused among us, 
and Christ will be felt to abide with us, as the 
ever-present Sustainer, Comforter, and Guide. 

It is the duty of the teacher to attend, if pos- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 125 

sible, the regular social meetings, appointed 
monthly, or at other stated intervals of time, 
in the school with which he is connected. He 
should feel the obligation to do all in his power 
to render such meetings improving and interest- 
ing ; not putting off all the work upon others, 
not feeling that the pastor and superintendent 
are the only ones to render the hour one of 
mutual benefit, but feeling that he has a part to 
do, a work to perform, in preparing himself, by 
reading or reflection, on the given subject of the 
evening, and so far as he may in imparting the 
results of his own study or experience, either 
by writing or conversation. Such meetings, if 
judiciously conducted, are of essential importance 
in bringing the teachers together, i» creating and 
sustaining a feeling of mutual interest and sym- 
pathy, and in imparting mutual aid and encour- 
agement. Whatever may be regarded by indi- 
vidual schools as the best course to be pursued 
at such times, whether the direct study of the 
Scriptures, or the discussion of doctrines or ab- 
stract truths, or of questions relating to the im- 
mediate welfare of the school, the ultimate end 
should be one and the same, namely, the im- 
provement and progress of teachers, and through 
them the advancement of the school, — the meet- 
ing together for united prayer and supplication 
for the help and. guidance of the Spirit. 

Where this end is lost sight of, where frivolous 



126 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

conversation or unedifying debate, or mere in- 
difference characterizes the hour, it would be bet- 
ter to give up such meetings at once. If con- 
ducted in a serious, devout, yet cheerful spirit, 
they may be made one of the most fruitful means 
of a higher and quickened life, and of a deeper 
interest and closer sympathy among the teachers. 

A course has been pursued in some of our 
long-established schools, and with success, of 
having a course of study, or a list of subjects of 
discussion, marked out at the commencement of 
the season, to be taken up in regular order, a 
copy of which is furnished to each teacher at the 
first meeting, by which means he has ample time 
to read or think upon the subject before it is 
brought before the meeting for general conversa- 
tion or discussion. Written communications are 
requested from any able and willing thus to con- 
tribute to the interest of the hour, and the read- 
ing of them is followed by more general debate, 
or private conversation. At other times it may 
be found more profitable to have the hour de- 
voted to the direct study of the Scriptures. 

We need, also, to meet together, that we may 
learn to teach; that those who have just under- 
taken the duties of the teacher may gather wis- 
dom from the experience of others long and suc- 
cessfully engaged in the work. We have our 
normal schools to impart the art of teaching to 
those who would themselves be the instructors of 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 127 

others, in secular truth and scientific knowledge ; 
and equally do we need in the Sabbath school, 
to embrace every opportunity of progressing, of 
learning how we may teach better and more 
truly, how our instructions may be rendered 
more useful, thorough, and interesting. Above 
all, let such meetings be sanctified by prayer, and 
hallowed by devout and earnest supplication. 
Whatever may be the discussions or the teach- 
ings of the hour, let there be the united inter- 
cessions for divine help and blessing ; for the 
conscious guidance, the renewing and sanctify- 
ing influences of the Spirit, thus fulfilling the 
Saviour's prayer, " That they all may be one, as 
thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they 
may be one in us." 

Another direct and important duty of the 
teacher is to become acquainted with his pupils 
in their own homes ; to learn the influences which 
there surround them ; the dangers and tempta- 
tions to which they may be exposed ; their pecu- 
liar trials, wants, difficulties, and opportunities. 
Where such intercourse is seconded by the in- 
terest and co-operation of parents, a means of 
influence is opened which cannot be over-esti- 
mated. Here we are met by a difficulty, which, 
to many, is not slight nor imaginary. In many 
of our schools, the children of a class move in a 
different, and so-called higher social circle than 
the teacher ; and naturally there is a conscious 



128 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

diffidence or backwardness on his or her part in 
taking the first step toward such a mutual ac- 
quaintance. 

We have known pupils remain under the care 
of the same teacher for four or five years, and 
yet the parents make no advance toward such 
intercourse ; never express any word of encour- 
agement or indebtedness to the teacher, or evince 
the least interest in the studies of their children 
or the welfare of the school. 

What a chilling and depressing influence such 
indifference has upon a sensitive heart few but 
the individual can know. Never will our schools 
take their true position, and become the means 
of a high spiritual nurture, until parents more 
generally manifest a direct, personal interest in 
their improvement and success. Some expres- 
sion of interest is due to the faithful teacher ; 
and though he may be able and willing to labor 
perseveringly and prayerfully from the highest of 
motives, how much would a few words of en- 
couragement and interest often do to lighten his 
labors, and to cheer him in his work ! 

On the other hand, let the teacher be faithful 
to his own duties, in visiting his pupils from time 
to time, whenever such intercourse is possible, — 
especially in cases of sickness or peculiar trial. 
If they are in poverty or want, let him lend the 
helping hand, or give the word of encourage- 
ment ; if in suffering, speak the word of a heart- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 129 

felt sympathy; if in sorrow, mourn with them. 
Let him evince, by every means in his power, 
that his interest is not confined to the Sabbath 
hour. Let him direct their reading, if they have 
no truer and better guide at home ; let him some- 
times seek with them the beautiful haunts of 
nature, -and by cheerful conversation lead their 
thoughts and aspirations to the great and good 
Giver of all ; let him go with them occasionally 
to the dwellings of poverty or suffering, and teach 
them the blessings of an active charity and a 
true thoughtfulness for others, and point out to 
them in what simple ways they may be useful to 
others, however limited their means or opportu- 
nities. 

Let him occasionally seek to deepen their good 
resolutions, or point out some particular fault, by 
a simple note ; for even if the child be so young 
as to require it to be printed, it will often have 
a deeper and more lasting influence, will touch 
the heart more truly, than any regular lesson. 
With the older pupils, how often, through the 
medium of a letter, will a kind remonstrance, or 
an earnest plea for a higher spiritual life, for 
self-consecration to Christ, be more efficacious 
than any spoken words ! 

Let him endeavor to awaken or to increase 
the interest of his pupils in the public services of 
religion ; to deepen their reverence for the sanc- 
tuary and their attachment to the Church. Let 



130 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

the immediate subject of the services be often 
referred to, and made a topic of conversation in 
the class, and let even the younger children be 
taught to pay attention to the reading of the 
Scriptures and the hymns, though the sermon 
itself may be above their comprehension. 

Above all, let the teacher feel it to be his own 
duty to be a punctual and regular attendant 
upon the services of public worship. Let not 
his practice contradict his teachings, nor his ex- 
ample belie his words. Let the pupil see, that 
to him, at least, the Sabbath, with all its blessed 
influences, its means of instruction, its opportu- 
nities of improvement, its meetings for solemn 
worship and devout prayer, is a froly season, a 
season of religious privilege, a season for religious 
thought and spiritual communion, marked by no 
austerity nor gloom, but cheerful and happy. 

Let not his seat in the sanctuary be found va- 
cant with every cloud in the sky, every cold win- 
ter's wind, or warm summer's breeze ; but let him 
prove that he so far values such privileges as 
occasionally to make some little exertion, or prac- 
tise a little self-denial, in order to be present at 
the regular service. 

A teacher who instructs his class in the morn- 
ing, and spends the afternoon in walking, riding, 
or visiting, or lounges at home reading the news- 
paper or the last new novel, will exert but a du- 
bious influence on his pupils. Actions speak 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 131 

louder than words, and their influence is more 
enduring. Character possesses an unmeasured 
power and an all-potent influence, though no di- 
rect word of counsel or rebuke be uttered ; but 
mere teaching, unless the life in some good de- 
gree correspond, is worse than useless. 

While there exists such a growing indifference 
to the institutions of religion, while the great 
interests of public worship are made to depend 
chiefly upon the peculiar talent or fidelity of one 
individual, so that if he be removed, the church 
often degenerates at once, as if its whole life 
were concentrated in one person, instead of being 
an active, vital principle, diffused through every 
limb of the whole body, self-sustained and life- 
diffusing ; — while nice criticisms upon the style 
or manner of the preacher are made to take the 
place of a self-application of the truths uttered ; 
while a brilliant intellect is so often preferred to 
a profound, realizing faith, or a fine theoretical 
discussion excites a deeper interest than the sim- 
ple, solemn utterance of divine, eternal truths ; — 
the teacher needs firmly and definitely to take 
his only true position ; to manifest, by a devout 
and reverential observance of the public services 
of the Sabbath, that he regards them as of im- 
portance, and to evince, both by word and action, 
that the great object of such worship is, not the 
mere hearing of this or that favorite preacher, 
12 



132 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

but the worship of God, and the promotion of 
the soul's spiritual and eternal good. 

These and other duties might easily be en- 
larged upon ; but the conscientious teacher will 
never be left in darkness as to the true path of 
duty and of effort. 

Looking unto Jesus,. — seeking, through daily 
prayer, Divine help, — waiting on the Spirit, — 
he will ever seek higher aims and wider views of 
truth and of duty, remembering that Divine prom- 
ise : " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give 
thee a crown of life." 

" No act falls fruitless ; none can tell 
How vast its power may be ; 
Nor what results, enfolded, dwell 
Within it silently. 

" Work on ; despair not ; bring thy mite, 
Nor care how small it be ; 
God is with all who serve the right, 
The holy, true, and free." 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 133 



CHAPTEE IX. 

CLASSIFICATION OF PUPILS. USE OF MANUALS, &C. 



" Not in proud and lofty dreaming, 

But in glowing, active zeal, 

Humbly its own worth esteeming 

Laboring still for human weal ; 

Christian ! shall to thee be given, 

Wisdom, grace, the love of heaven." 



It is sometimes remarked, and with a degree 
of truth, that, much as has been written and said 
on the Sunday school, frequent as are the public 
meetings for debate and discussion on its true 
modes of operation, and its legitimate aim and 
object, the practical question, " What am I to 
do ? " often remains unanswered, as the teacher 
turns to the immediate duties of his class. 

"We shall endeavor, therefore, in the present 
chapter, to give a few brief hints on the manner 
in which a more systematic arrangement of 
classes may be introduced, and to offer a few 
simple suggestions on the mode of instructing 
the youngest pupils, considering in brief the true 



134 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

use of manuals and text-books, as aids in the 
study of the Bible. 

The first requisite for any permanent and real 
improvement, either in the single class or in the 
school collectively, we have already shown to 
consist in the true spiritual and intellectual prep- 
aration of the teacher for his work. 

The next point to which we would advert, is 
the better classification of the school. We are 
aware that on this point it is easier to theorize 
than to practise ; yet we believe, that with some 
definite, determined aim in view, much even here 
may be accomplished. To feel the want is the 
first step towards improvement. Each individual 
class, with the exception, perhaps, of those com- 
posed of the very youngest children, should be 
engaged on the same lesson ; and to this end, 
children will be classed of course according to their 
capabilities and progress,and not according to age. 
To have the single hour — often only an half- 
hour — reserved for direct instruction in the 
classes divided among two, three, and even four 
recitations, must of course render each either 
very brief or very superficial, and will strengthen 
in the pupil the too prevalent idea that a mere 
cursory knowledge of the Bible, or a lesson re- 
peated memoriter, is all that is essential. 

One hour a week, with those teachers who are 
so fortunate as to obtain such a length of time for 
class instruction, is surely brief enough to speak 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 135 

of themes so vast and so momentous as are re- 
vealed in both the old and new dispensations of 
truth, to enlarge on their rich lessons of biog- 
raphy and history, their stores of poetry and 
prophecy, their words of warning and retribution, 
and their promises of hope and eternal blessed- 
ness. 

When a pupil enters the school, let it be the 
duty of the superintendent to converse freely 
with him, to examine him in his knowledge of 
the Scriptures, to ascertain something of his 
home life, and of his character and disposition, 
and then to place him, with the consent of the 
teacher, in such a class as seems best suited to 
his needs and capacities ; and if, after a few 
weeks, there are good reasons for making a 
change, some other and permanent teacher may 
be found. It is said, " Supposing a teacher com- 
mences with a class of six pupils, of average 
capacity and advancement, and with the inten- 
tion of keeping them together as long as possi- 
ble. Within one or two years, perhaps half of 
them, from various causes, have left the school ; 
their parents have removed to other towns or 
cities, or sickness has obliged them to remain at 
home. How, then, is the teacher to supply their 
place ? for he is unwilling to give up those still 
remaining with him, to whom he has already 
become strongly attached." In such a case, 
some teachers take children much younger into 
12* 



136 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

their classes, to commence leading them on, as 
those who have left ; but this, of course, creates 
a division in the class, and limits the time to be 
devoted to each portion. 

Would it not be much better, in almost every 
case, to supply such vacancies by pupils able to 
unite with the original members of the class, 
and so to continue in the same course of instruc- 
tion ? Such a method possesses many advan- 
tages, and a little attention on the part of super- 
intendents and teachers could easily secure the 
desired end. To have well-informed pupils of 
fifteen or sixteen years of age in the same class 
with children of six or seven seems utterly in- 
congruous, and a mode of classification which 
would never be tolerated in our day-schools. Are 
we not, in so doing, limiting our means of use- 
fulness, and curtailing the brief opportunities we 
now possess of imparting instruction in spiritual 
truth ? 

Some teachers are peculiarly fitted to in- 
terest the youngest pupils, and by a winning, 
gentle manner, can secure order, attention, and 
interest, without any word of authority ; while 
others as naturally seek those more advanced, 
whose lessons require more direct study and 
thought. Judgment and observation are, there- 
fore, needed in classifying any school ; but let not 
mere caprice, on the part either of the teacher or 
of the pupil, justify a change of classes ; let not 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 137 

want of perseverance or faith be concealed under 
a plea of want of ability, or a mere desire of 
change be deemed a sufficient excuse. 

The ties formed between the true teacher and 
his pupils are too sacred and strong to be lightly 
or wantonly sundered, and the spiritual influence 
which he exerts over them is to be regarded be- 
fore all things else. If the good of the pupil de- 
mand a change of classes, such change should 
be made, and a course of regular, systematic in- 
struction pursued. 

To mark out the same exact course for all 
the pupils in the school, where they possess 
so widely different advantages, and occupy so 
different positions in life, and remain in the 
school for such different periods of time, is im- 
possible. If some distinct, definite plan is clearly 
laid down, and fully understood by the teachers, 
which they shall feel bound to follow out as far 
as possible, we believe that it will be essentially 
better and more practicable to leave the details of 
the plan to the judgment of the individual 
teachers, than to attempt any rigid enforcement. 
This, of course, throws a greater responsibility on 
the teacher; but such a responsibility to any 
active, earnest mind will be quickening rather 
than depressing. He will not regard himself as 
a mere machine, but as an essential limb of the 
whole body ; and any change he may make in 
his class, or in his course of instruction, will not 



138 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

be done without thought and prayer, and refer- 
ence to the ultimate good of the pupil. 

It is often asked, How are the younger pupils 
to be instructed and interested ? A partial an- 
swer to this question may be found in what has 
already been said; but as a more direct reply, 
we would offer a few brief hints. Let the 
youngest child have some definite lesson to pre- 
pare, however short or simple ; let him commit 
one or more verses of a hymn, or a short pas- 
sage of Scripture, previously explained, and then 
let the teacher illustrate the lesson by direct 
and simple conversation. The remainder of the 
hour may be profitably occupied by the teach- 
er's reading some portion of Scripture, some 
story from the Old Testament, or an account 
of- some one of Christ's miracles, or a para- 
ble from the New Testament, and explaining as 
he reads ; and, on the following Sabbath, requiring 
the children to give an account of what was read 
the previous week, and questioning them, to as- 
certain the correctness of their knowledge. In 
this way, a very young child may be made 
familiar with all the leading narratives of the 
Scriptures ; and where little home instruction is 
given, such lessons will be found more attractive 
than almost anything else ; for the insatiable crav- 
ing of children for " stories " will seldom be wea- 
ried with those of Joseph and Moses, of Samuel 
and David, of Elijah and Daniel. With such a 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 139 

lamentable deficiency as now exists of any ac- 
curate knowledge of the Old- Testament history 
and biography, how can the want be better rem- 
edied, than by interesting the young mind in 
its rich stores of instruction ? The child will 
never forget the impressions thus received, and 
however great his subsequent acquirements, he 
will never outgrow his interest in these conse- 
crated records of an early age, — in the strange 
and wonderful history of the chosen people of 
Jehovah. With such a foundation, when the 
child commences the direct study of either the 
Old or the New Testament, with the use of some 
manual, he will have a stock of information on 
which to fall back, and will find his lessons of 
double interest. The amount of good that might 
be gained by the faithful use of home opportu- 
nities in this way can hardly be overestimated. 
If parents or elder brothers and sisters felt the 
responsibility of thus interesting the younger 
members of the home circle in the wonderful 
records of the Bible, far less need would there be 
to deplore, as we do now, the strange ignorance 
of its contents even among those well informed 
on other topics. 

The mere reading of the Bible in course, from 
Genesis to Revelation, as if this alone were a 
matter of comment or praise in the child or youth, 
is, we hardly need say, a useless practice. Let 
selections be pointed out to him, to read by him- 



140 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

self, or passages read aloud and explained to 
him, and he will never look on the Bible as a 
" dull book," or a book only for Sundays. Here 
we would record our remonstrance against the 
practice, common in some schools, of occupying 
the brief hour of instruction in reading to the 
younger children mere story-books or tales from 
a child's paper. Occasionally, this may be done 
to advantage ; but to lay the Bible aside, as if 
the child were too young to understand its les- 
sons of divine truth, and to supplant it by some 
feeble, trifling fiction, is utterly unworthy the 
great object of Sunday-school tuition. With 
the younger and the elder pupils, let the Bible, 
and the Bible alone, be the chief book of instruc- 
tion. Manuals are of value only as they help 
to illustrate and unfold the truth of the divine 
record ; and are not those to be regarded as es- 
sentially deficient which do not direct the pupil 
to search, for himself, the records of Revelation? 
The manual is only of secondary importance, — 
to give point and definiteness to the lesson, and 
to let the pupil have something to do in preparing 
for the exercises of the school. 

The faithful teacher will never bound his in- 
struction by a given number of questions and 
answers ; for he will feel that such a recitation is 
but a poor fulfilment of his duties. 

" It is litde trouble to have charge of a class 
now," said a teacher in one of our city schools, 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 141 

not long since ; " for, with a regular series of 
books to use, we have nothing to do but just to 
ask the questions, and be sure that the right an- 
swers are given." On being asked if she did not 
make it a practice to converse with her pupils, or 
to study the lesson by herself, she replied, " O, no ! 
The answers and the references given I presume 
are all correct ; and then we have but just time 
to go through the regular lesson before the 
school closes." 

Is there not too much of this kind of instruc- 
tion, if it deserves to be called such, even in our 
best schools ? A manual, at the best, is only 
suggestive, and should be used by the teacher 
always as a means, not as an end ; and should 
ever be regarded as a help to the study of the 
Bible, and as subsidiary to the direct examina- 
tion of its pages. The old-fashioned custom, 
if so it may be called, of committing to memory 
portions of the Scriptures and hymns, is one 
which ought not to be discontinued among our 
pupils. The stores of sacred truth thus laid up 
in the mind are invaluable treasures in after 
years ; and what poetry more sublime, what 
strains more elevating, than the inspired rhythm 
of psalmist and prophet ? It is well known how 
long the verses and hymns, committed in child- 
hood, remain fixed in the memory, when all 
things else fade and are forgotten ; but why 
should this practice be confined, as is usually the 



142 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

case, to the very youngest members of a school ? 
There are surely stores enough of sublime poetry, 
of devout prayer, and of solemn praise, embra- 
cing the richest treasures for those of older years, 
and of inestimable value to be laid up in the 
memory ; and, with the assistance of the teacher, 
such selections could easily be made, and could 
constitute a part of the regular recitations of the 
class. 

Every child should commit to memory the 
Commandments, the Lord's Prayer, and some 
simple form of morning and evening devotion, 
suitable to express his peculiar desires and needs ; 
for to those, especially, wholly destitute of home 
religious instruction and influence, such forms 
are invaluable helps in the promotion of a re- 
ligious spirit and the growth of the Christian 
character. Often will they dwell in the mind, 
when mere words of counsel or admonition are 
forgotten, and form an effective barrier against 
sudden temptation or fierce passion. At the 
same time, let the spirit of prayer and devotion 
be so inculcated that the child shall soon be led 
to express his wants and to proffer his petitions 
in his own words, however childlike and simple. 

We are sometimes told that the pupils have 
no time to prepare their lessons ; that their school 
duties through the week occupy all their hours ; 
and that they need Sunday as a day of rest and 
relaxation. If this be truly the case, we would 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 143 

say emphatically, Let some or all other studies be 
given up, rather than that of the Bible ; for which 
is of the most lasting consequence, a French or 
a Latin verb and a problem of Euclid, or a 
knowledge of Gospel truth ? There is a fitting 
time and an appropriate season for each and for 
all ; but where such studies are made to encroach 
on the Sabbath, or the weariness resulting from 
them, in any one case, prevents the desire for 
spiritual instruction and preparation for the du- 
ties of the school and sanctuary, there is some- 
thing radically wrong in the system of education, 
and parents are solemnly responsible for the re- 
sult. Let the child and the youth be taught that 
there are some studies and some courses of read- 
ing peculiarly appropriate to the sacredness of 
the Sabbath, and that his grammar and arith- 
metic and algebra are then to be laid aside. Let 
works illustrative of Bible truth, the rich stores 
of Christian biography, the history of the won- 
derful fortunes of the Jewish race, works of sacred 
poetry, and such as point out the marks of the 
Creator's wisdom, power, and love in all the 
beautiful forms of nature, — let all such be freely 
opened to the child ; for they will minister to his 
spiritual wants and desires, while they contribute 
also to his intellectual growth. 

There is a knowledge to be gained of the es- 
tablishment and progress of Christianity in the 
world, the evidences of the truth of revealed 
13 



144 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

religion, and an acquaintance with the leading 
parties and sects of the Church, — all offering a 
wide range for individual taste and preference, in 
those of maturer years. 

If our pupils are to become the future teachers 
of these schools, is it not of vast importance that 
they should be well informed on these and kin- 
dred subjects ? 

That the teacher should possess definite and 
clear ideas of the truth he teaches has already 
been considered ; and of equal consequence is it, 
that, as the pupil leaves the school, he should 
know distinctly what he believes. Lessons, there- 
fore, on Christian doctrine, not controversial or 
bigoted, should form a distinct part of the course 
of studies pursued ; for unless the youth possesses 
some definite knowledge of the leading truths of 
the faith in which he believes, he will become a 
ready prey to the shafts of scepticism or to the 
sneers of ridicule. Let such truths be distinctly 
fixed in his mind, and however few or simple, 
they will be the living germ of a growing and 
enlarged faith, the sure foundation of the belief 
and trust of future years. 

Amid the various perplexing questions that 
arise from time to time in every school, the 
teacher may sometimes feel discouraged and 
uncertain as to the best mode of action. True, 
mistakes have been, and will again be made, 
and we shall sometimes find the right path only 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 145 

after long and devious wanderings. Let no in- 
dividual feel that he is exempt from doing his 
part, however trifling, towards the introduction 
of a better system and of a higher order of 
teaching in our schools. Laborers of every 
capacity, if only faithful, are needed in the 
building up of the one great spiritual Temple. 
Only let its foundations be laid in faith, and its 
walls consecrated by prayer and heavenly com- 
munion, and its work wrought in a sense of 
entire dependence upon God, and in his own 
time it will rise in fair and beautiful propor- 
tions, a meet dwelling for the Holy Spirit. 



146 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 



CHAPTER X. 



ORDER AND METHOD. SUNDAY-SCHOOL LIBRARIES. 



" No existence is commonplace to him who lives with uncommon 
aims. The meanest work, carried on with insight arid hope, with a 
feeling of the beautiful and with reference to the whole of which we 
are parts, becomes large and important." 



There is no point on which the thorough and 
hearty co-operation of individual teachers is more 
essential, in order to render the short time de- 
voted to Sunday-school instruction conducive to 
the best results, than the enforcing and maintain- 
ing of the most entire order and regularity in all 
its duties and exercises. 

Children of all ages and capacities are brought 
together, some of whom have never been sub- 
jected to any authority or restraint at home; 
while others are prone to take advantage of the 
absence of any penal discipline in the school, 
and to make the hour one of amusement and 
recreation rather than of improvement ; and un- 
less there is a distinct understanding among the 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 147 

teachers of the necessity of individual firmness 
in the government of their respective classes, of 
the necessity of maintaining the most entire order 
and regularity, and infusing as far as possible a 
spirit of reverence among the pupils, the school 
will degenerate at once. 

Where this is not the case, where, as in too 
many schools, amusement is made paramount to 
instruction, and order sacrificed to the caprice of 
the passing moment, a most grievous wrong is 
done to the spiritual nature of all concerned. 
Amusement, laughter, or trifling conversation 
among the pupils, whispering among the teachers, 
lessons recited as a mere form, and often followed 
by an address with no point, no definite aim, as if 
the speaker felt that he was conferring an obliga- 
tion in saying something, no matter what or how 
trifling, a hasty dismission and a hurried exit, — 
such a school, or one in any way resembling such, 
is worse, — we speak deliberately, — infinitely 
worse than the entire absence of religious instruc- 
tion. Religion is degraded, truth dethroned, and 
Christ crucified anew. Let a child have no relig- 
ious instruction, let him be debarred, by early 
want and disadvantage, from the public teachings 
of the Sabbath, and we would gladly believe that 
in the Father's all-embracing love such a soul 
might be so influenced by the secret monitions 
of the Spirit, that the germs of a true spiritual 
life would be quickened, and expand in full and 
13* 



148 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

beautiful unfoldings in the genial light of the 
heavenly land, beneath the Saviour's tender guar- 
dianship. 

Let the child enter a school that is character- 
ized by disorder and frivolity, let him be placed 
under the charge of a teacher who has no vital 
sense of the infinite moment of his work, and the 
germs of religious sensibility are soon crushed, 
the conscience is deadened, the interest flags, 
faith grows dim and dies, and religion becomes 
a mere ceremony, without any living spirit : the 
present is all, and eternity and retribution, and 
Christ and heaven, are mere barren fantasies. 
Even in a school where the general regulations 
are orderly and systematic, and the exercises de- 
vout and serious, if the child receive direct in- 
struction from a teacher whom he knows to be 
worldly, frivolous, and careless, the same effect 
will more than probably result in that individual 
case. 

Let the child be blessed by religious home 
influences, and such results may in part be coun- 
teracted, but never wholly ; the after life, if rightly 
directed, must be a struggle to overcome such 
early impressions : and how hard that struggle 
few, save the individual himself, can tell. 

Is it asked, What, then, is to be done ? We 
answer emphatically, Insist on order, method, 
discipline, in the general government of the 
school, and in individual classes ; and, if this 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 149 

cannot be had by the use of firm and judicious 
means, let the school be closed at once. Noth- 
ing can be effected worthy of a Christian school 
without order. The sooner an ill-managed, ill- 
regulated, ill-governed school is disbanded, the 
better. 

That order and discipline can be maintained 
without any direct show of authority, and serious- 
ness and reverence characterize the hour, we well 
know. Much, very much, depends on the char- 
acter of the superintendent, and the judicious 
authority which he may exercise in the general 
oversight of the school. But let him possess the 
very best intentions, and strive to the utmost to 
enforce the regulations of the school, and it will 
avail little, unless each teacher feels his own in- 
dividual responsibility in co-operating with him. 

Let a few plain, simple regulations be made for 
the use of the school, according to its peculiar 
wants and individual necessities, and let each 
teacher as he enters upon his duties be furnished 
with a copy of the same, with the distinct un- 
derstanding that he is bound to carry them out 
in the government of his own class, and by his 
example to assist in the enforcement of them in 
the school at large. Let there be method in the 
entire arrangement of the general exercises of 
the school ; in registering the names of pupils and 
teachers ; in keeping an account of the average 
attendance, and the transfer of pupils from one 



150 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

class to another ; in the distribution of books, 
the manner of opening and closing the school, 
&c. ; though on these and kindred topics, of 
course, each school must make its own regula- 
tions. Only let not the rules remain as mere 
dead letters on the statute-books, as if such be- 
longed to a period less advanced, or, as some 
imagine, less spiritual, than our own. Pat life 
into them. Make them effective and vital; for 
it is only through such system and order, vainly 
denominated by some " mere mechanical forms," 
that we can ever attain the highest and truest 
spiritual results. 

Much might be done to promote this end, by a 
more faithful punctuality on the part of both 
teachers and pupils ; but having already spoken 
on this point, we would refer to what constitutes 
a great interruption, and creates much disorder in 
many even of our best-regulated schools ; namely, 
the distribution and exchange of library books 
among the pupils. If it is necessary that this 
should be done on the Sabbath, we would have 
the library opened before the commencement of 
the school, so that a selection of books may be 
made by the teachers, without occupying any of 
the time set apart for the exercises of the school. 
When the school is about to be dismissed, let 
the children receive to take home with them 
such books as the teacher sees fit. 

The teacher should always be acquainted with 



OP THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 151 

the character and contents of the books he se- 
lects, and choose such as are appropriate to the 
child's age and capacity ; letting him understand 
distinctly that he is personally responsible for 
the good use and safe-keeping of the same. An- 
other regulation, adopted in some schools, and 
which might with little effort be easily carried 
out in almost all, seems to us much more con- 
ducive to the good order of the school. Let the 
library be opened at a certain hour during the 
week, and then let the teacher go and make such 
selections as he knows his class most needs,— 
placing the books with the manuals or service- 
books used by the pupils, and then, on the fol- 
lowing Sunday, simply exchanging them with 
those returned by . the children, charging the 
number of each volume to the individual by 
whom it is received. The teacher would not be 
obliged to visit the library more than once in 
several weeks, as the different pupils in his class 
would receive in turn the books selected, some, 
of course, keeping them longer than a single 
week. 

This method prevents all confusion in the 
school, — the constant leaving of seats by either 
teachers or pupils, the looking over of miscella- 
neous volumes to find such as might be suitable, 
and the expenditure of time too valuable to be 
spared from the direct instructions of the school. 

In the treatment of the library, much depends 



152 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

on the librarian's habits of method and order, 
and on his accuracy and fidelity in the care of 
the books ; but equally essential is it that each 
teacher should co-operate in the rigid enforce- 
ment of all the regulations of the library; for 
only in this way is it possible to secure the good 
use and the safe-keeping of the books. 

Is not something more needed in most of our 
schools than improvement in the merely exter- 
nal arrangements of the library? Do we not 
greatly need a higher order of books, — books 
that will at once interest children and contribute 
to the growth of their intellectual and moral 
powers, without creating a morbid love for mere 
works of fiction, which soon leads to an utter 
distaste for all but novel-reading and the light 
literature of the day ? Is not much of the preva- 
lent superficiality and the want of intellectual 
vigor in many of those just entering on mature 
life attributable to the habits of desultory read- 
ing, and the thirst for exciting mental stimulants 
acquired during the period of childhood ? 

We would not, by any means, exclude from 
our libraries all works of fiction ; but they should 
constitute only the minor portion of the books, 
and should be such as directly to enforce high 
moral lessons. To admit every book, however 
trite its aim or weak its style, simply because 
" the good child is rewarded, and the disobedient 
punished," — an effect, by the way, not always 



OF THE CHKISTIAN LIFE. 153 

to be' seen in real life, — seems to us unworthy 
the true aim of such libraries, and the high moral 
tone and influence that should flow from the 
Sunday school. 

Much as is often said of the superior advan- 
tages enjoyed by the children of the present age, 
we have sometimes thought, when looking over 
the well-filled shelves of juvenile libraries, em- 
bracing miniature biographies and histories, and 
stories without end, that some of those of the 
past generation, whose only recreation was to be 
found in Plutarch and Itollin, stood a better 
chance of possessing a vigorous and active mind, 
and powers capable of exertion, than very many 
of the youth of the present time. 

The child is often praised for his fondness for 
his books, and his love of reading ; but give him 
a book that requires some attention and thought, 
one that will really prove of service and use 
to him, and generally, though fully adapted to 
his capacities, it will soon be laid aside as weari- 
some and uninteresting. The teacher soon dis- 
covers this, in the selections he makes for his 
class, and when the pupil has read through the 
story-books contained in the library, its interest 
is exhausted. 

Is not some decided improvement needed ? 

That parents are, first and chief of all, solemn- 
ly responsible for the mental habits and moral 
tastes of their children few will deny ; yet how 



154 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

few comparatively take any interest in the sub- 
ject, or ever inquire what the child is reading, so 
long as he is only quiet, and makes no interrup- 
tion ! How few ever question the child on what 
he has read, or make it an object to ascertain if 
the hours thus passed are of any real, lasting 
benefit to him ! The free access which many 
children possess to a common circulating library 
has a most baneful effect on their whole moral 
and intellectual well-being. We have known 
those whose parents were well able, both from 
education and position, to instruct and direct 
their children, allowed to select books entirely at 
random ; and often have we seen children of ten 
and twelve years of age, and even younger, free- 
ly reading the emptiest novels, and such as had 
a most doubtful moral bearing. 

What results must necessarily follow? The 
taste becomes vitiated, the moral perceptions 
blunted, the conscience hardened by constant 
familiarity with scenes of a low and unworthy 
character, from which the child would be care- 
fully excluded in real life, and a craving for con- 
stant excitement fostered, until every-day duties 
and definite studies become altogether tame and 
uninteresting, and by slow but sure degrees the 
health of the mind is destroyed, and its purity for 
ever lost. 

Great as is the responsibility of parents, are 
not Sunday-school teachers in a measure ac- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 155 

countable for the intellectual tastes and habits 
of their pupils ? Ought not our libraries to em- 
brace works of more substantial value than are 
now to be found in many or most of them ? 
and should not the teacher make it a more defi- 
nite aim to select such books as will really bene- 
fit the child ? 

Only create a demand for books of a higher 
order than such as now usually fill the shelves of 
our juvenile libraries, and it will be met. There 
is talent and power and efficiency enough among 
us to answer every call for a more extended use- 
fulness, if it only be directed in the right chan- 
nel, if the ruling and fundamental aim be only 
determined, lofty, and true. 

Subjects of this kind may seem trite and insig- 
nificant. They are not so, when viewed in con- 
nection with their true and legitimate results. 
The humblest deed, if wrought in the spirit of 
Christ, becomes large and divine ; and in no of- 
fice more than in that of the Christian teacher 
do we need the true spirit of individual fidelity 
and of personal responsibility to God and to 
Christ, — the spirit of abiding trust, and of a 
vital, hopeful faith, united with a distinct and 
definite aim for personal improvement ; for such 
a spirit, and this only, will react on the whole 
body of our schools, and render them effective 
agencies for a higher spiritual nurture. 
14 



156 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 



CHAPTER XI 



Gethsemane can I forget, 
Or there thy conflict see, 
Thine agony and bloody sweat, 
And not remember thee ? 

1 When to the cross I turn mine eye, 
And rest on Calvary, 

Lamb of God, my sacrifice! 

1 must remember thee ! " 



We have already considered, more or less in 
detail, the essential qualifications of the religious 
teacher, and the duties which he owes both to 
himself and his pupils. There remains still 
another class of duties and obligations really 
embraced within these, but which from its very 
nature requires separate consideration, namely, 
the relation of the teacher to the Church of 
Christ. 

It is not uncommon to meet the individual 
who regards this relation as one entirely at the op- 
tion of his own inclination, — one which he may 



OP THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 157 

assume or ignore at pleasure, and which brings 
with it no peculiar responsibilities or privileges. 
He regards the Church as a sort of abstraction, 
having no vital connection with his own spiritual 
welfare; as something essential, indeed, to the 
promotion of Christianity, but with which he 
has little or nothing to do. He regards its in- 
terests as belonging to a chosen few, and feels 
that so long as he leads a correct and upright 
life, so long as his moral character is irreproach- 
able, and he is active in the duties of benev- 
olence and charity, he is exempt from all further 
obligation. 

The Apostle's sublime thought, of all true- 
hearted believers forming one perfect spiritual 
body, of which Christ is the head, — his spirit 
flowing through and quickening each individual 
member, and imparting life, strength, and vigor 
to each separate limb, without which none could 
perform its appointed functions, is regarded as 
a sort of fanciful chimera, never actually to be 
realized through individual growth and a per- 
sonal union with the divine Saviour. 

The idea of any distinct, open, fearless choice 
to be made between the two great forces that 
even now divide the entire moral universe is one 
wholly lost sight of in much of the teaching of 
the present day ; and many rest satisfied with a 
low standard, a tame mediocrity, and a languid 
piety, as if somehow all would be well with 



158 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

them in the end, and as if God were altogether 
too merciful to reject any. so good as themselves, 
though their virtue is only that of outward sur- 
roundings, though they have known no inward 
renewal, and have been conscious of no close, 
personal relationship to God and to Christ. 

Were the Christian Church to have War waged 
upon it from without, as in the earlier days of its 
establishment, or were it possible to have some 
decisive proof by which the genuineness of a 
living faith might be tested, we should witness 
a stranger division now within its borders, among 
those nominally Christians, than has ever been 
created by the conflicts of creed, sect, or party. 

Go into any of our Sabbath schools, and how 
many do we find engaged as teachers who have 
never distinctly recognized their individual indebt- 
edness to Christ, and who feel that they have no 
individual union with his Church ! Is there not 
something utterly incongruous, to say the least, 
in acknowledging the importance of Christ's 
teachings and mission, so far as to be desirous of 
imparting the truths of his Gospel to others, and 
yet feeling no obligation to fulfil his last and 
dying request, or in any direct form to become a 
living, active member of the Church, which is 
His body ? Is there not prevalent a strange and 
mistaken feeling on this whole subject? Which, 
indeed, abstractly considered, is the most solemn 
and responsible act, to commune with the Saviour 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 159 

at his table, a service individual in its very nature, 
or to seek to impart to other spirits the eternal 
truths of God, to utter words that shall have an 
undying influence over immortal souls ? Is it a 
more direct profession of faith in Christ, to obey 
his parting command, " This do in remembrance 
of me," than to gather the lambs of his flock, and 
to teach them of the one good Shepherd ? Why 
should the office of the Christian teacher be one 
so lightly assumed, regarded as open to the most 
inexperienced, considered too often as embracing 
no peculiar obligations, and yet the two simple 
rites by which the individual recognizes his re- 
lation to the Church, or brings himself into a 
more intimate union with this or that particular 
organization of some portion of the Church, be 
so much neglected, as if some far higher obliga- 
tion, some far more weighty responsibility were 
then incurred ? Is there not a radical defect in 
the general mind on the relative importance of 
these subjects ? Have we not substituted a law 
and a standard of our own for that of the Gos- 
pel ? 

If the individual be really unfit to unite in 
the sacred service of commemoration, if he have 
no affection for Christ, no sense of indebtedness 
to him, no conscious need of a Saviour, then he 
is equally unfit to be a teacher of divine truths to 
others. 

On the other hand, if he so feels the solemn 
14* 



160 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

realities of life, the love of God, and his own ob- 
ligations as a steward of the divine bounty, as to 
desire and pray to be God's minister of good to 
others, then he ought to confirm this desire, and 
strengthen this prayer, by an open acknowledg- 
ment of the Saviour's claims upon his gratitude 
and love. 

It is said, that many are really desirous of 
doing good to others, and are conscientious in 
the performance of their duties as teachers, who 
yet feel that they are not " good enough " to 
commune with their Saviour. Whenever this 
excuse is conscientiously given, we cannot but 
feel that it forms one strong reason why the 
individual should be the more strongly urged 
gladly and freely to unite in this simple service ; 
for it is the humble, the self-distrustful, the 
watchful disciple who bears the nearest kindred 
to his Master. As these words are usually ut- 
tered, they imply an utterly wrong state of feel- 
ing, as if a certain amount of goodness, a cer- 
tain degree of merit, were essential to recom- 
mend one to the divine favor. The too preva- 
lent feeling, and one which secretly mars the 
symmetry of many an otherwise Christ-Like char- 
acter, that what we do possesses a sort of in- 
herent efficacy in meriting, the approval of God, 
is one that needs to be distinctly encountered 
both in the preaching and the teaching of the 
present day. Outward duties and benevolent 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 161 

organizations are substituted for inward com- 
munion and heavenly aspiration, and deeds of 
charity are too often made to take the place of a 
living heart-faith in Christ. So the idea gains a 
yet stronger hold, that such works may be per- 
formed, and such duties engaged in, without any 
deep, abiding faith, as if such poor deeds alone 
could place the soul in a state of acceptance and 
reconciliation with God. 

Among all the excuses usually offered for the 
neglect of this beautiful service of commemora- 
tion, — that its observance was only binding 
upon the early disciples, that no visible good re- 
sults from it, that the individual is not good 
enough to take so decided a stand, that he does 
not want to set himself up as an example, that 
he is too diffident to profess so openly his faith 
before others, and many other reasons, only too 
familiar to the faithful pastor or teacher, — there 
is yet one, seldom urged, but which lies at the 
very foundation of all others, and which, though 
often unacknowledged by the individual, is really 
the secret cause of all his hesitancy, doubt, and 
lack of interest, namely, the want of a true love 
to Christ, and of a sense of personal indebtedness 
to him. 

If this be in the soul, — if the deep sense of 
un worthiness, the conviction of sin, the dread 
consciousness of a holy and violated law, have 
been followed by peace and reconciliation through 



162 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

a crucified Saviour ; if gratitude and trust have 
succeeded the tears of penitence and remorse, 
and a child-like faith in a Father's mercy, in the 
consciousness of what Christ has done and is 
still doing for the soul, fills the spirit with a quiet 
confidence, — then will it no longer hesitate. Its 
ruling desire and earnest aim will be, to show forth 
in the fullest and clearest manner its heart-felt 
love. The whole life will be the constant expres- 
sion of its deep indebtedness, and it will joyfully 
hasten to acknowledge, in the commemoration of 
its Saviour in the way of his own appointment, 
its personal gratitude and love. No fear of hu- 
man censure or ridicule, no thought of man, will 
then stand between the soul and its Redeemer. 

" 'T is love, t is love ; Thou diedst for me ! 

I hear thy whisper in niy heart ; 
The morning breaks ; the shadows flee : 

Pure, universal Love thou art ! 
My prayer hath power with God ! the grace 

Unspeakable I now receive. 
In vain I have not wept and strove ; 

Thy nature and thy name is Love ! " 

This conviction of sin and unworthiness, this 
need of pardon and reconciliation, this love to 
Jesus, comes not to the soul as of itself, unde- 
sired and unprayed for. It comes not amid the 
press of business, the search for amusement, the 
mere mechanical routine of duty, but only through 
the sacred ministries of silence and solitude and 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 163 

self-recollection, through the holy influence of 
prayer and divine communion. 

Thus it becomes evident where alone we may 
find a church or a school that is really alive and 
vital. " It is only where the reconciling office of 
Christ is felt as a reality, and where the imme- 
diate gifts of his divine spirit in the communion 
of love are a part of the soul's experience." If 
such be realized by the Christian teacher, if he 
has learned something of the soul's deeper expe- 
riences, and of his own utter weakness and ina- 
bility unless he seek indeed to abide in Christ, 
then, as he enters on his duties as a guide to 
others, he will also openly acknowledge his faith 
in the Redeemer, and gladly sit at his Master's 
table, fulfilling his last and dying request, " This 
do in remembrance of me." 

Some may ask, " Are not new and solemn 
responsibilities incurred by those who thus take 
upon themselves their Redeemer's covenant ? " 
We reply, None that are not equally binding 
upon all who claim for themselves the name 
of Christian. To acknowledge, either directly 
or indirectly, Christ as the soul's guide, leader, 
and example, is to acknowledge the highest 
standard of character, the strictest rule of self- 
judgment. To neglect the observance of this 
simple yet comprehensive ordinance, established 
by the Saviour himself in an hour for ever con- 
secrated to the Christian heart, and hallowed by 



164 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

the observance of ages, is not merely to neglect 
the command of the Master, but to slight the 
dying request of Him whose love was stronger 
than death, through whom alone we have the 
assurance of pardon and acceptance. But let 
not this rite ever be regarded as an end, as an 
expression of some definite attainment in good- 
ness ; for if so, what conscientious heart would 
ever participate in it ? No : it is simply an ex- 
pression of personal attachment to the Saviour, 
of self-consecration, — ■ a vital and hallowed means 
of growth. It is now and always communion 
with the Master. 

In the mystic language of the Apostle, the 
Church is the body of Christ, of which he is the 
living, ever-present Head. Only as each mem- 
ber of that body is inseparably united with him, 
deriving from him life and support, quickened by 
his controlling spirit, and impelled by his divine 
will, can it possess any inherent force, life, or 
energy. So far only as each member fills his 
own appointed office, so far as each possesses an 
individual life, earnest, calm, and controlling, so 
far as each knows from an inward experience 
the deep meaning of " a life hid with Christ in 
God," will the Church of Christ be a living 
Church. 

You may form new organizations, you may 
remodel the outward forms of service, you may 
erect churches, you may print volumes, you may 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 165 

appoint missionaries and gather new societies, 
and pour the streams of a profuse benevolence 
into a thousand channels, — but without this in- 
ward life, without this living principle of faith, 
this love to God and to Christ in the soul, all 
efforts, all forms, all outward services, will be as 
the worthless chaff blown away by the passing 
breeze. 

Let, then, every teacher, as he enters on the 
duties of his office, faithfully examine himself. 
Let him feel that his example will not have its 
due weight, nor his teachings their rightful effi- 
cacy, and that he is not wholly true to his Master, 
so long as he neglects those parting words expres- 
sive of the desire of affectionate remembrance, so 
long as he withholds in any measure the weight 
of his example and -influence in promoting the 
cause of Christ. 

Go back in thought to that large upper room, 
and as one after another the earnest and sorrow- 
ing countenances of the disciples pass before 
you, seek out the one central figure, Him who in 
sublime self-forgetfulness thinks only of pouring 
comfort and strength into the troubled hearts of 
those around him. Place yourself at his feet, 
and listen to those calm, sublime words of im- 
mortal trust and undying affection. 

Receive from his lips the parting blessing of 
his own deep peace and quenchless love ; drink 
in his spirit of divine self-sacrifice ; know that 



166 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

your name was borne upon his heart in that hour 
of love, that his interceding prayer went forth 
that you also might be made one with him and 
with the Father ; follow him to the garden 
shades ; watch beside him in that hour of dread, 
mysterious agony; stand with the faithful few 
beside the cross of suffering and of shame ; read 
there the assurance of pardon and reconcilia- 
tion ; and then turn coldly away, if you can, 
and slight the last and dying request of your 
Saviour and your Master ! 

Some will say, that they do not feel ready to 
take so decided a stand with regard to the re- 
ligious life as is usually implied by participation 
in this service. Remember, though you may 
seem long to halt, there is in reality no middle 
ground. " No man can serve two masters." The 
warfare of life must be waged under one of two 
leaders, — and the choice is your own. 

Were Christ visibly present, were he in audible 
voice to invite those who cherish any degree of 
love to him, who are seeking to be his in heart 
and life, to partake of his feast of love, would 
you still turn away from those touching memo- 
rials ? It is his voice that speaks to you, his love 
that pleads with you, his hand that is stretched 
forth to welcome you. 

Come, then, and be openly, fearlessly, and 
truly his faithful, loving disciple. Come into 
the full participation of the blessings vouchsafed 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 167 

to every earnest, humble soul. Come into the 
close and intimate communion with your Lord 
and Master. 

If you are conscious of the sincere purpose to 
lead a Christian life, if your prevailing aim and 
desire be that you may be a faithful disciple of 
your Saviour, if the love of Christ be in your 
soul, faint indeed compared with the boundless 
gratitude which is his due, ye daily deepening 
and strengthening in the hidden fountains of 
your being, if you desire to cherish a living faith 
in him as the Saviour and Redeemer of the soul, 
then is it indeed said to you, " Come unto me; 
come gladly, cheerfully, trustingly, — for him 
that cometh, I will in no wise cast out." 

Give to His cause the whole weight of your 
influence and your example. Be closely united 
with Him who ever lives as the great Head of 
the Church. Dwell in intimate union with his 
spirit, and so walk with him from day to day, 
that those with whom you are associated shall 
indeed take knowledge of you, that you have 
been with Jesus. Then as you go to your 
duties on the Sabbath, you will speak with new 
earnestness and power, and the hearts of the 
young will be through you more deeply im- 
pressed with the beauty of holiness and the joy 
and peace of a reconciled heart. 

If you feel that the service would be to you 
one of mere form ; if you feel that you have no 
15 



168 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

peculiar responsibilities to the Church of Christ, 
no individual relations to him as the Head of 
that Church; if his love has never glowed within 
your soul, nor his spirit quickened within you 
the aspiration for a higher life ; if his words have 
never awakened the cry of a contrite spirit, nor 
the earnest longings for pardon and reconcilia- 
tion ; if you have never felt your need of a Medi- 
ator and Saviour, — then pause, and solemnly 
answer to yourself the question, " Why am I 
holding the responsible position of a religious 
teacher and guide to others ? By what right am 
I, in form at least, seeking to influence the minds 
of the young, to impart to them the truths of 
eternal life, unless I know from inward experi- 
ence something of their power? Am I not 
thus acting a false part?" 

To one side or the other, to God or to the 
world, do you stand committed. Your own self- 
judgment must render the true verdict. Postpone 
not, then, the answer too long. As the solemn 
scenes of that day rise before you, when the eter- 
nal realities of a future being shall stand dis- 
closed to view, when face to face you shall meet 
Him whose voice has so often pleaded with your 
inmost soul, resolve so to live, so to unite yourself 
with his Body, so to confess your Saviour in your 
daily life and before men, that he will acknowl- 
edge you as his before the Father and his angels. 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 169 



CHAPTER XII 



THE RELATION OF THE CHILD TO THE CHURCH. 



" Behold, the covenant is with you and your children.' 



The relation of the teacher to the Church of 
Christ is closely and intimately connected with 
that of the child ; but no one conversant with the 
present state of our schools can fail to be aware 
of the vague and indefinite feeling that exists 
among the young respecting this relation, and 
of the lack of any strong feeling of obliga- 
tion to observe in a fitting way and season 
the two simple ordinances of our faith, — Bap- 
tism and the Lord's Supper. Apart from other 
opposing influences, — such as the absence of 
all home religious instruction, the low stand- 
ard of character among many who call them- 
selves members of the Body of Christ, the re- 
action against the use of all outward forms, as 
if they were necessarily inconsistent with spir- 
ituality of faith and practice, — it is not to be 



170 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

denied that much of the present state of cold- 
ness and utter indifference is to be ascribed to 
the defective influence and instruction of our 
Sunday schools. 

Many teachers dismiss the whole subject at 
once, and consider it as one with which they 
have no possible connection ; while others, faith- 
ful in their general teachings, seem to regard it 
as belonging only to those of mature heart and 
character, in which the child or youth has no 
part or interest. He is generally regarded as 
standing apart, as it were, by himself, outside 
the pale of the Church, and his ever coming 
into it is too often left as a wholly optional 
matter, dependent upon circumstances, taste, or 
even upon fashion alone. 

The result of such training is only too clearly 
visible. The child grows into the youth, and 
the youth passes on to maturer years, without- 
being surrounded by any constraining or controll- 
ing influence ; and as he takes his part in the 
duties of active life, the Church becomes more 
and more to him as a mere name, a sort of 
foreign interest, with which he has not the remot- 
est personal connection, except so far as custom 
or general opinion demands a half-day attendance 
on the services of public worship. 

Is this state of things right or Christian ? Has 
the child no part in the covenant promises of the 
Redeemer ? Is he to be left by himself to wan- 



OP THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 171 

der in the far-off country, until weary and dis- 
heartened, filled with remorse and anguish, and 
heavily laden, he turns back to seek his Father's 
house ? Has not the Church a sacred duty to 
perform in bringing the young from very infancy 
into its fold, and so guiding, guarding, and edu- 
cating them that they shall never wander from its 
sacred inclosure ? 

Some may ask, " What is to be understood by 
the Church, — a word so variously and often so 
vaguely used ? " In the language of another, we 
reply, " It is that body of persons who believe in 
Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and Saviour of 
men, crucified and risen ; and so believe in Him 
as to be personally conscious of a supreme de- 
sire to live his spiritual life, to resemble him, and 
be his true redeemed disciples. Love to God as 
manifest in Christ, and love to man as God's 
child, must be the ruling affections in the soul, — 
whether they have conformed the character per- 
fectly to them or not. The Church is the aggre- 
gate of these consecrated souls, aiming and long- 
ing above all things, to live righteously ; irrespec- 
tive of names, of forms, of creeds, of age, of 
place, except so far as these affect this internal, 
central consecration to Christ. Its boundaries, 
as it is embodied in actual persons, may be indis- 
tinct to man's eye, but they are plain to God's ; 
and the definition is plain. The Church is that 
body of people, in whatever age or nation, of 
15* 



172 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

which Christ is literally and spiritually the Head. 
And any one particular church is a smaller col- 
lection of such people, and so a branch of the 
Church Universal." 

According to the teachings of Christ, and the 
whole bearing of the New Testament, Baptism 
formed the initiatory rite, by which new converts 
to Christianity, or children of Christian believers, 
were admitted to the privileges and made par- 
takers of the blessings of the Christian faith and 
covenant. All such were regarded and treated 
as of the household of faith, and if those bap- 
tized in infancy ever denied the covenant-prom- 
ise implied in this dedicatory rite, made by 
parents or believing friends, and forsook the 
guardian care that the Church extended over 
them, it was through their own willing neglect 
or wrong-doing. 

So should it be now. The child from its first 
opening years should be led to feel that as he is 
a member of a particular household, and has his 
own definite and individual relations to parents, 
brothers, and sisters, so is he also a member of 
the Church of Christ, and has his peculiar re- 
sponsibilities and privileges as such ; and that if 
he ever forfeits them, it must be through his own 
act. 

This view, of course, does not preclude the ne- 
cessity of the regeneration of individual souls. 
The child of Christian parents, like all others, 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 173 

needs to have a spiritual life formed within 
him, in addition to his natural life. Where 
the child is consecrated from infancy, and edu- 
cated under Christian influences, such regenera- 
tion, the second birth into the new and higher 
life, may very early take place, so that the soul 
shall grow God-ward and heavenward, even as 
its bodily powers are developed and strengthened, 
and he shall never be conscious of the time when 
he was indifferent to spiritual realities, when the 
thought of God was not a constraining thought, 
and the love of Christ a true incentive to 
action. 

If parents and teachers felt more deeply their 
sacred responsibility thus to train the young spir- 
its committed to their keeping ; if the life, the 
spirit, the teachings of Christ were instilled into 
the child's soul from very infancy by domestic 
example, instruction, and family prayer ; if he 
were " often reminded of his Church privileges, 
and of the joy of his Christian heritage and 
home," then, as he advanced to maturer years, 
would he gladly, in every form and way, ac- 
knowledge his relation to the Church, and his 
indebtedness to its one only Head. 

As few, very few children are surrounded by 
such blessed home influences, and brought into 
the great spiritual Church from earliest child- 
hood; as few, even of those consecrated in in- 
fancy by the rite of baptism, are faithfully edu- 



174 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

cated as disciples of Christ, and escape the be- 
numbing influence of the world and of fashion, 
— the rest must come into membership with the 
spiritual Church of Christ through the only other 
mode, that of conversion, of sincere penitence, 
and of the birth of a Christian conviction, — of a 
heart dedication to God through Christ. 

Whenever the child, the youth, or the person 
of mature years can distinctly and seriously 
say, " I am resolved henceforth, through Christ 
strengthening me, to be a faithful disciple," then 
does the soul become united with Christ, as a 
member of his Body or Church. 

Both the example and the words of Christ de- 
mand that this purpose and this resolve should 
be confirmed and sealed by outward confession 
and act. Where the rite of baptism has not 
been observed in infancy, in which case it is 
solely the dedicatory act of the parent, bring- 
ing the child into covenant relations with the 
Church, now is the fitting season for the indi- 
vidual to follow his Master's example, and to 
observe that rite, emblematical of the washing 
of regeneration, and of the purity of soul to 
which the disciple aspires, through the putting 
away of the defilements of sin, and the cleansing 
and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit. 

Now is the fitting and true season for him 
to come to the Lord's table, to express in out- 
ward form and by free confession his acknowl- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 175 

edgment of his Master's claims upon his grati- 
tude and love, and to consecrate himself unre- 
servedly and openly to his service. 

The rite is truly one of remembrance, of com- 
memoration ; and whenever it can be made such 
in heart and in spirit, whenever the individual 
of whatever age is conscious of love to Christ, 
or of the sincere desire to love him, and wishes 
thus to commemorate him in the way of his 
appointment, — then ought he to unite in this 
service. 

To make no distinction between the usual 
forms of public worship and the observance of 
this service, to place no difference between the 
general worship of the congregation and this 
commemorative rite, would be at once to ignore 
its peculiar character and purport ; for unless it 
be a service indicative of individual affection, 
love, and gratitude, expressive of the soul's true 
desire to be brought into a closer harmony with 
its Redeemer, it becomes at once a mere vain 
and unmeaning form. 

Let no barrier of man's device be placed 
around the holy table. To very many minds 
some simple form of personal confession, as the 
individual first unites in this service, seems right 
and fitting. " It defines relations, and qualifies 
for business measures and social action. It is 
an open, satisfactory step. If it involves a trial 
of feeling, it is no less acceptable for that cross 



176 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

to Him who bore the cross of an infinitely heavi- 
er sacrifice for us. So that, while joining one 
particular church is also entering into the Church 
Universal, membership in the Church Universal 
does not supersede the occasion for special con- 
firmation or confession on the part of those who 
desire to belong to one portion of that Church in 
particular." 

At the same time, the use of such a form 
should not be regarded as absolutely essential; 
for if so regarded, some might absent themselves 
from the service who would otherwise gladly 
share in its holy influences ; and we are aware 
that there are those who have conscientious ob- 
jections to the personal use of any such form. 
Let each be fully persuaded in his own mind. It 
is the Lord's table, not man's. It is the Saviour 
who presides at the feast, and his words of invita- 
tion are, " Whosoever tvill, let him freely come." 

Let all, then, be freely invited to come who, 
on their own personal responsibility, feel that 
they have a part in his covenant-promise ; all 
who regard themselves as Christ's followers, or 
who are desirous of making him their guide, and 
are looking to him as their Saviour and Re- 
deemer. 

Let the weak come, that they may find strength ; 
the sorrowing, that they may be comforted ; the 
tempted, that they may be sustained ; the aged, 
that they may be blessed ; and the young, that 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 177 

they may be gathered into their Redeemer's fold, 
and have added to the gladsomeness of youth the 
enduring joy and peace of their Saviour's presence 
and love, — the assured blessedness of a heart and 
a life early consecrated to him and his. service. 

Is it asked what peculiar instructions should 
be given by the Christian teacher on the observ- 
ance of these two rites of our faith ? We reply, 
Whether the child be one of believing parents or 
not, teach him, that, by the very Christian privi- 
leges he enjoys in the instructions of the school 
and the worship of the sanctuary, he holds some 
definite relations to the Church, and seek, by 
all possible means, to deepen within his soul 
the sacred importance of those relations. Con- 
verse with him simply and freely. Teach him 
the true meaning of these rites; explain their 
import ; speak of their privileges. Let every lov- 
ing and hallowed association cluster around 
them, and let him not feel as if he were a sort 
of alien from the true fold, only to be brought 
within its precincts by some sudden impulse or 
spasmodic effort in after years ; but let the ten- 
derness of a Christian love, and the watchfulness 
of a Christian heart enfold and guard his earliest 
years. If in infancy he was consecrated by 
parental love or Christian friendship to his God 
and his Saviour, let him be often reminded of 
his baptismal dedication, and taught to live wor- 
thily of it. 



178 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

Let the school be indeed to him as the school 
of Christ ; and ere he leaves its guardian care, to 
enter upon the toils and duties and responsibili- 
ties of maturer years, let him have been so trained 
and educated, under the blessing of God and 
through the sanctifying influences of the Spirit, 
that in trusting faith and love he shall gladly lay 
upon the sacred altar of commemoration the 
offering of his youthful powers and strength, 
thus dedicating himself upon the threshold of 
life to his Master's service. 

Thus, and thus only, will the school become a 
true co-worker with the Church in the Christian 
education of the young, and in the regeneration 
of individual souls. Thus only shall we educate 
those now pupils to become teachers worthy of 
their vocation ; for only so far as teachers are 
themselves living members of the Church of 
Christ, only so far as they are laboring to bring 
the young into the one great fold of the Redeemer, 
only so far is any school worthy to bear the name 
of its one Master and Head, — worthy of being 
called a Christian institution. 

" The Spirit, in our hearts, 

Is whispering, ' Sinner, come ! ' 
The Bride, the Church of Christ, proclaims 
To all his children, ' Come ! ' 

" Let him that heareth say- 
To all about, him, Come ! 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 179 

Let him that thirsts for righteousness 
To Christ, the fountain, come ! 

Yes, whosoever will, 

O let him freely come, 
And freely drink the stream of life : 

'T is Jesus bids him come." 



10 



180 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 



CHAPTER XIII 



THE CHRISTIAN STANDARD OF CHARACTER. 



" Nearer, my God, to thee, 

Nearer to thee ! 

E'en though it be a cross 

That raiseth me ; 
Still all my song would be, 
Nearer, my God, to thee, 
Nearer to thee ! " 



The questions are sometimes asked " whether 
the Sunday school is to be regarded as a perma- 
nent institution, and how far it is to be consid- 
ered as an effective and true co-worker with the 
Church." The answer to eacn of these questions 
is one and the same. 

The permanence and the usefulness of such 
schools will ever be in exact proportion to the 
degree in which they are made peculiarly and 
emphatically religions schools. Just so far as 
they are imbued with spiritual life and an inward 
energy ; just so far as the spirit of Christ is dif- 
fused throughout the whole system, and his rec- 
onciling offices as Mediator and Saviour are felt 
to be a reality ; just so far as the words of Gospel 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 181 

truth are received into the soul as fountains of 
life, — just so far, and no farther, will they be 
self-sustained and secure, — the means of a high 
spiritual growth. 

Let our schools be characterized by no high 
aims, no vital sense of their dependence on, and 
intimate union with, the great Head of the 
Church ; let them be mere intellectual institu- 
tions, the teachers imparting a knowledge of Gos- 
pel truth much in the same way as they would a 
lesson from Euclid; let them to any degree do 
away with home religious instruction, or lessen the 
sense of parental responsibility's is sometimes the 
case, — and the sooner they are closed the better. 

That changes and reforms are needed among 
us, that we have a right to expect higher influ- 
ences and a more spiritual life to go forth from 
our schools, that we are to look to those educated 
beneath their influence to be the most faithful 
supporters of the Church and the most active in 
all plans of benevolent enterprise, few will deny. 

Any change, any improvement, any real and 
permanent good to be effected, must begin at the 
fountain-head. The true life of our Schools, as 
they exist to-day, depends wholly on the religious 
life of the teachers of to-day. 

Let teachers be, in spirit and in life, conse- 
crated to their Master's service, willing to forego 
ease and self-indulgence to promote his work, — 
earnest in self-improvement, counting it all joy 



182 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

if in God's way, and not merely according to 
their own choice, they may labor in his vineyard 
and win souls to Christ, feeling the Saviour's 
presence as a constant incentive to duty, and 
waiting on the Spirit as the sustainer and sancti- 
fier of the soul, — then shall a power and an in- 
fluence go forth from among us to rouse the in- 
different and careless, to break down the strong- 
holds of sin and iniquity, to purify the streams of 
fashion and worldliness, to bring the ignorant 
and wandering into the fold of Christ, to shed 
light over the dark places of human misery and 
guilt, and to render many a barren and desolate 
waste as the garden of the Lord. 

Then would children be nurtured in the beauty 
of holiness, and early brought into covenant re- 
lations with their Redeemer. Then would the 
Church arise and shine, and put on her beautiful 
garments, and the ways of Zion would no longer 
mourn because so few come to her solemn feasts ; 
for the Saviour's animating presence would no 
longer be held by any heart as a dim and beauti- 
ful tradition of the past, but his constraining love 
and the quickening impulse of his divine spirit 
would be welcomed and cherished as the soul's 
richest heritage. 

There is one danger to which even the truly 
Christian teacher is exposed, one evil through 
which the sincerely consecrated heart is liable to 
lose sight of its lofty aims and its immortal in- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 183 

heritance, — an evil showing itself in so many 
thousand different ways, and revealing its potent 
influence under such diverse forms, that to enu- 
merate them would be impossible, and yet which 
mars many an otherwise Christ-like character and 
noble spirit ; — we refer to the danger and the 
evil of the abounding, potent, everywhere preva- 
lent spirit of worldliness ; a spirit which not only 
asserts its sway in the market, the exchange, the 
counting-room, the gay and fashionable party, 
but which presses itself into the sanctuary of 
home, intrudes upon the secret hours of devotion, 
paralyzes the noblest forms of benevolence, and 
tends to reverse the divine standard of the Gospel, 
which for ever proclaims the supremacy of the 
inward over the outward, and the unseen over 
the seen and perishable. Its constant and uni- 
versal tendency is, to lower the standard of per- 
sonal attainment^ to degrade holiness into mere 
outward morality, the faith of the heart into a 
mere intellectual belief, and righteousness into a 
decent conformity with the usages of the world. 
The divine image of purity and truth becomes 
marred, and by degrees the holiness of Christ is 
regarded, not only as beyond the attainment, but 
even as beyond the earnest aspiration, of the spirit. 
The Saviour's earnest and emphatic words, " Ye 
cannot serve God and Mammon," come to be 
regarded as a paradox, and the sharp conflict be- 
tween the world and God, between pride and 
16* 



184 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

self-sufficiency and the eternal power and un- 
changeable holiness of the Divine will, is ear- 
nestly waged, as if outward decency could take 
the place of inward piety, and the plans and ac- 
tivity and might of man could work out for him 
an eternal salvation ; as if, to the Divine eye, 
there were no clearly marked distinction between 
a correct, upright deportment, induced more by 
circumstances than by choice, and a heart conse- 
crated to God and to Christ. 

What is the only standard which the Gospel 
recognizes, and which Christ requires ? " Be ye 
perfect, even as your Father is perfect." " Be ye 
holy, for I am holy." 

" Abide in me," said the Saviour, " and I in 
you, for without me ye can do nothing." And 
how deep the mystic and hidden meaning of the 
Apostle's words, " For ye are dead, and your life 
is hid with Christ in God ! " Far more do they 
imply than a mere mechanical conformity to the 
usages of society, and the standard of the world, 
or a ready compliance with the force of circum- 
stances and of education. They speak of a power 
at work in the very depths of the soul, a power 
to transform, and to renew ; of motives to ef- 
fort, to duty, and to obedience, of which the 
world takes no cognizance, but which, when in- 
wrought into the soul, clothe it as with a giant's 
strength, and invest it with a superhuman power. 
They imply a heart at one with Christ, perme- 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 185 

ated by his divine life, his spirit prompting every 
true feeling and noble exertion ; a will in entire 
harmony with his, never seeking its own pur- 
poses, but moved, swayed, and governed by the 
divine. They speak of a soul freed from self, 
living only in and through Christ, and conse- 
crated to him, not only for life, but for eternity ; 
— a soul so consecrated that it shall be willing 
to be buffeted even in its highest desires, if thus 
it shall be made more lowly, and brought near- 
er the divine humility of the Saviour. It is 
equally ready to suffer as to act ; to serve in si- 
lence, pain, or loneliness, as on the busy theatre 
of life ; for the life is but the spontaneous expres- 
sion of its purest love, which asks nothing from 
others, claims nothing for itself, but rejoices that 
in any way it can labor for Christ, or express its 
gratitude and affection. 

Is such an attainment easy ? Is it to be 
won by cold endeavors, faint aspirations, occa- 
sional longings, and heartless prayers ? Has it 
nothing to combat in the low standard of world- 
ly goodness, and self-righteous morality ? — no 
fearful word of rebuke for self-satisfied indolence, 
no trumpet tongue to arouse the slumbering soul 
from its death-like trance of self-complacent 
worldliness ? Has it no emphatic voice of warn- 
ing, no quickening word of power, to him who 
would guide others in the way of life, who seeks 
to point the young, the ardent, the aspiring soul 



186 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

to the nobler heights of Christian attainment and 
heavenly goodness ? 

There is nothing, as some might imagine, 
strange, forced, or unnatural in a life like this. 
It is simply and only following Christ in daily 
duty, walking w T ith him, looking constantly to 
him for guidance and help, acknowledging his 
claims as the Master of the soul, and yielding 
to him the ready and glad obedience he requires. 
A child can understand the meaning, and recog- 
nize the beauty of this life of holiness ; while the^ 
faithful Christian of threescore years and ten, 
whose brow may seem to others visibly encircled 
as with a crown of glory, will feel that he has 
but taken his first steps heavenward, so constant- 
ly will the Divine image manifested in Christ 
grow upon his soul, ever revealing nobler and 
nobler heights of attainment. 

"Blessed are they who do hunger and thirst 
after righteousness " ; for the promise is alone to 
those who would gladly feed on that living Bread 
which came down from heaven, and who truly 
thirst for the pure waters of life, that " they shall 
be filled." 

" O, sacred union with the Perfect Mind ! 

Transcendent bliss, which thou alone canst give ! 
How blest are they this pearl of price who find, 
And, dead to earth, have learned in thee to live ! 

" O go, and learn this lesson of the cross, 

And tread the way which saints and prophets trod, 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 187 

Who, counting life and self and all things loss, 
Have found in inward death the life of God." 

Go forth, then, Christian teacher, to your du 
ties, fully and freely recognizing your high call- 
ing ; for only through this deep religious life, only 
through souls thus consecrated, will our schools 
become worthy the support of Christian hearts., 
worthy the fostering and guardian care of the 
Church, or worthy to bear the name of their 
divine Master. 

Go forth with vigor, with earnestness, and 
with a living faith in the eternal word of prom- 
ise. Go forth, nerved as with a divine impulse, 
to labor in the vineyard, restrained by no false 
doubts or unworthy misgivings. Go, charged 
with something of the noble Christian energy 
that animated Gordan Hall, when he offered to 
work his way to the field ; with the earnest zeal 
and trusting faith through which the faithful 
Crocker adopted, as his Qjily motto of life, 
" What ought to be done can be done, Christ 
strengthening us " ; with the unquenchable ardor 
and consecrated energy of the devoted Brainerd, 
who so early rested from his labors in the earthly 
vineyard of his Lord. 

Above all, go forth in the spirit and the name 
of Christ. Though discouragements are around 
you, though trials encompass your path, though 
you may witness no present results of your la- 
bors, hesitate not to tread even the rough path 



188 BEGINNING AND GROWTH 

of duty, for Christ dwells ever at your side. 
Like the beloved disciple, lean on his breast ; 
cling to his supporting hand, kneel humbly at his 
feet. Enter into a true and living fellowship 
w T ith him, that you may know, from glad expe- 
rience, the meaning of " a life hid with Christ in 
God." 

Obey the Saviour's parting command, first 
and chief of all, by preaching the truth through 
a Christ-like life and conversation, by being your- 
self a living gospel, known and read of all men. 

Proclaim the words of truth, not alone on the 
Sabbath hour, and to the few gathered in your 
class, but regard it as your noblest privilege, in 
any way or form, to make known the power and 
the blessedness of the Gospel of Christ. Accord- 
ing as you have found him precious to your own 
soul, so speak in confidence and faith to the 
young, the erring, or the tempted. Dwell in 
daily communion with your God 5nd your Sav- 
iour, and through the deep life of lowly prayer, 
so realize the great truths of your inward being 
that other souls shall feel the quickening influ- 
ences of your spirit, and your words shall be vital 
with a divine power and energy. Look upward, 
and catch the inspiring glance of the Master's 
eye, and hear the thrilling sound of his voice, as 
in tender love he bids even the little children 
come to him, — and then, in the child's spirit and 
the child's faith, receive the proffered blessing. 



OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 189 

Remember, that, should your convictions of 
truth and of duty ever lead you to a solitary 
path of effort, you are not laboring alone, for if 
but faithful to your own soul, all the great forces 
of the spiritual universe are pledged in your be- 
half. Remember the great cloud of witnesses by 
which you are surrounded, not only the earnest 
and true of past times, but those whose faithful 
lives and loving spirits have blessed our own 
homes and schools, and left in many hearts the 
sacred memories of their Christ-like walk and 
conversation. 

Not alone have they left us to labor ; for though 
hid from mortal sight, their spirits still abide with 
us in the fellowship of faith and of love, bidding 
us to strive as they have striven, to trust as they 
have trusted, and still to faint not in well-doing. 

Go forth, then, Christian teacher, casting aside 
once and for ever all coldness, all indifference, all 
low aims and merely worldly standards of excel- 
lence. Consecrate yourself in heart and life, in 
soul and strength, to your Redeemer's service. 
Enter into covenant relations with your soul's 
only Saviour. Seek the constant help and the 
sanctifying influences of the Spirit. Lean upon 
the Father's proffered support and blessing. And 
when called into the more immediate presence 
of the Great Shepherd of souls, may you expe- 
rience a -glad reunion with the little flock here 
committed to your keeping ; may you be enabled, 



190 GROWTH OF THE CHRISTIAN LIFE. 

with humble confidence and a trusting faith, to 
render up the account of your sacred steward- 
ship ; and being found faithful unto death, may 
you receive from the Master's hands the crown 
of life. 

May your witness be in heaven, and your 
record on high ! 



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